The Aftermath
by JuggernautTheDancingHobo
Summary: Everyone struggles to deal with the loss of their friends at Heavenly Host, little did they know, it hit Yoshiki the hardest. He blames himself for their deaths. For not doing more to prevent them. They need to make everything right again, to restore all of the lives lost inside that cursed school... But how?
1. Guilt

Yoshiki lie awake, staring at his ceiling. In that single day, he had seen more dead bodies than he had wished to see in a life time. He thought about all of the souls stuck in Heavenly Host, all of those kids from the other schools that he didn't even know, all of the dead bodies belonging to students just like them, Shinohara, Morishige, Suzumoto, Yui-sensei... He shook his head, trying not to think about it. It was dark out, and he sat silently on his bed in his deadly quiet apartment.

The extremely faint noise of one of his neighbors having intercourse was the only thing audible other than his own breathing. His muscles rested for the first time in the past several hours. He thought about Shinozaki, Nakashima, and the Mochida siblings, how much trouble they probably were in for not coming home until the early hours of the morning. It was sad, but at this point he was slightly thankful he didn't live with anyone, though even if he was still living with his parents, they probably wouldn't have cared.

His mind went back to Shinohara and the others, they had accepted him into the group of friends with open arms at his lowest point, when he was getting into drugs, drinking and smoking. They fixed him happily, Shinozaki especially, she stopped him from dropping out. He was going to miss Morishige's comments on everything, Suzumoto's nice, innocent behavior, and Shinohara's... er... Sexual harassment? Well, that's what it was when you got down to it, but it was all in good fun. He didn't mind either, she was pretty cute...

He sighed heavily, blinking away a tear that formed in the corner of his eye. His room was cold, but he didn't care, he had been in the cold for all of his life. Disowned by his family... some of his closest friends now dead. He realized he would probably be a suspect in the search, being both a delinquent, and one of the last people seen with them.  
He glanced at his hand in the darkness, the first thing he had done when he got home was shower, there were cuts and bruises all along him that he didn't even realize until he was naked in the shower. All for Shinozaki, that bitch didn't even like him, in fact on several occasions inside Heavenly Host, she said she hated him. Not wanting to be stuck with him, she only wanted Satoshi.

He couldn't believe he was thinking this, though it was true on some level, she never even thanked him, not once, and she even had the FUCKING guts to say she hated him after he had saved her life several times?! He frowned slightly in the darkness, the moaning from three rooms over slowing to a stop. He opened his eyes once more, his room dimly lit by the moonlight coming in through the windows near his bed. He gulped, knowing what he wished to do next was irrational. He could do it, it would be so easy. He had knives in the kitchen, it wouldn't be any more painful than what he had already had to feel. It would be quick too. He sighed, sitting up in his bed. No one liked him, no one loved him, he wouldn't be missed, so why keep trying as hard as he has been for nothing? His breathing was shaky, standing up slowly near his bed.

He walked quietly to the kitchen. Stopping in front of the knife he had left on the counter. He closed his eyes tight, reaching out blindly, grabbing the handle, and picking it up.  
He gulped, a tear nearly forming in his eye. He sighed, thinking deeply about the situation. Besides his sister, who hadn't even talked to him in about three months, the only person he loved was Shinozaki, the others were friends, yes, but Shinozaki meant much more to him. This all didn't matter anyways, she hated him, she only liked Satoshi. He guaranteed that tomorrow morning at school, she would only be interested in Satoshi's feelings, she wouldn't even talk to Yoshiki.

His eye twitched slightly, his shaky breathing the only thing audible to him now, the others wouldn't care, especially Shinozaki, they wouldn't even remember him after the end of the semester. The others were all that mattered to them, that and for Shinozaki, all that mattered to her was her precious Satoshi. He wondered for a moment if he could reunite with the deceased in Heavenly Host once he was dead, maybe see his best bro Morishige, or the only teacher who took him seriously, Ms. Yui... Or maybe even Shinohara, she apparently liked him enough to tell him secrets, such as that she was bisexual, and her two major crushes were... her best friend Naomi, and... the other, she never really told him. She always hinted at it with an embarrassed look on her face. He wasn't that stupid though, he had always guessed that it was Satoshi, but in his last thoughts, he now realized she was always hinting at... Him? Kishinuma himself... Suzumoto was also dead, that was the cherry on top of the 'fuck you' cake. She was always so nice to him, calling him 'bro' and attempting to bro-fist him at every possible moment, her eyes lit up every time he did it, she always said that doing that with him made her feel cool.

He deserved this. He could have done more to save them. Without thought he brought the knife up to his wrist, he always heard about people cutting themselves for attention so he assumed it wasn't fatal, instead of cutting across, he cut down, a quick slice ending with him dropping the knife in reaction. He breathed deeply, looking at his arm. A long, slender cut along the veins from his wrist down about 6 inches. Beads of blood seeping though the cut, a few running off his arm, dripping onto the floor. This was it.  
All he had to do now was lie down in his bed, and go to sleep. A long... long nap. The pain was terrible, he so he sat awake, grunting every now and then, swearing silently.

He wouldn't live to see the sunrise. It was... 3:30 AM, and by the time it rose at about seven, he would be passed out... and then by noon, he would be dead. He sighed, thinking about his wasted opportunities, and all of the things he could have done to save the others. He deserved this. He deserved this... he deserved this.

A beep echoed throughout the room, making him jump slightly, he quickly realized he had just received a text message. He didn't want to die wondering what it was, it seemed stupid, but curiosity took over his mind after a few minutes. He wasn't going to at first, but after three more beeps, three more text messages, he quickly swore louder than he had before. Clutching his wrist, as he got up from his bed.

As he walked slowly to his table, a couple more text messages rang out. He grabbed his Iphone, turning the screen on to see several notifications from his friends.

Shinozaki, 3 Mins Ago: Kishinuma, I had a bad dream about you. It felt weird like the visions I had in Heavenly Host.

Shinozaki, 3 Mins Ago: Kishinuma, if you're sleeping, wake up. I'm worried about you, this dream felt weird, you died in it in a terrible way, and now I can't go to sleep.

Shinozaki, 3 Mins Ago: WAKE UP!

Shinozaki, 2 Mins Ago: Kishinuma, you really did it didn't you? I think my dream was a vision, if not, then RESPOND ASAP!

Shinozaki, 2 Mins Ago: If you're playing a joke, it isn't funny, you should have responded by now, THIS IS IMPORTANT. PLEASE.

Satoshi, 2 Mins Ago: Geez, Shinozaki just texted me about twenty times, she's really scared, and worried about you, dude, wake the hell up and respond to her.

Shinozaki, 2 Mins Ago: GET UP, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS

Nakashima, 2 Mins ago: Hey, Kishinuma, I know it's prbly nothin, but Ayumi's really worried about you, thinks you've commited suicide because of a vision she had, text me back so I can tell her to stop txting me, and I can get sum sleep.

Shinozaki, 2 Mins Ago: I'm sorry Kishinuma, please let that have been a bad dream, and please be safe, TEXT ME BACK PLEASE.

Satoshi, 1 Min Ago: Yo dude, even I'm getting worried now, c'mon, your ringtone is loud as fuck, you should've woken up by now.

Nakashima, 45 Sec Ago: U didnt actually do it right?

Shinozaki, 26 Sec Ago: I'm going to come over if you don't reply to any of us.

Shinozaki, 21 Sec Ago: So reply.

Nakashima, 10 Sec Ago: Shinozaki wants us to all sneak out and come over, so sorry if we wake you up, and this is all just a mistake.

Satoshi, 5 Sec Ago: I'm coming man, and when I get there, I'm pushing you out of bed, should've texted back man :D

Shinozaki, Now: On my way, please be okay Kishinuma!

He swore under his breath, ignoring the pain, and running to his door, locking it. He couldn't let the others see him, this suddenly became so much more complicated than it needed to be. They were all... Sneaking out of their homes, risking punishment... for him? This was stupid, he was so stupid to do it. He sighed, a look of pain upon his face. He had to get this cleaned up before they got there, it would be about 20 minutes before they started to show up, so he had time. He felt ill, he had already lost a lot of blood.  
There was a huge stain on his bed, coating the sheets a dark red, looking almost as if it was a black stain on the white sheets in the darkness.

There was a first aid in the bathroom, the apartment complex kept safety measures such as fire extinguishers, and first aid kits in each room. He sighed, realizing that just covering the wound wasn't enough, stitches were needed, and then he had to put on a bandage, and then put on a long sleeve shirt to cover up the bandage so the others would not see.

He just hoped that he could get it done before the trio showed up at his doorstep. He ran to the bathroom, swinging open the cabinet. Pulling the stereotypical red first aid box out. The rest of it was a blur, he remembered forcing the needle into himself, using his own skin like it was cloth in a sweatshirt. He could barely see through the pain, he felt as though he could pass out, but he couldn't do that, he forced himself to continue, pulling the string through the holes in his own skin. Causing more streams of blood to fall from the small holes in his skin. He grunted painfully as he gave the final yank, tightening the wire. He gasped for air, the wound was closed, but his arm was still extremely bloody, dripping onto the bathroom floor. He pulled the bandage out from the box. He regretted this entire night. He should haver realized it from the start that they all loved him like family. They went through hell and back together, so it should have been obvious that they'd at least like him. He shouldn't have been so stupid, he swore at himself under his own breath. The teachers were right... He WAS an idiot, but at least he had good friends.

He wrapped the bandage tightly around his arm, which, in case you were wondering, felt as though it was on fire. He didn't know how he was going to calmly talk to his friends with this pain, but he could manage, he HAD to manage. He tightened the bandage, biting tearing off the other end. Now, all he had to do was put a shirt on, and the event never happened, or at least, that's what the others thought.

He quickly got an idea, if he texted them each a message, saying he was fine, maybe they'd go away, he didn't want to risk them seeing him in this state, he was now the lowest he had ever been in his life, quite lower than when he was trying drugs and alcohol. He ran as quiet as possible to his closet. Putting on his school uniform jacket. It completely covered the bandage. Sweet, it looked as though it had never happened.

He regretted it deeply, he also hated himself for forcing the others out of their sleep, and into the streets, heading for his apartment. Though he realized that if he was dead, it would only make it worse for the others, they'd blame themselves. He shouldn't have even tried to do this to them. They couldn't know about this. Ever.

He waited in silence, knowing the others would show up any moment. Walked silently to his kitchen, he had a bowl of noodles left from the night before, the chopsticks sticking out of the top. If the others were to show up, he might as well treat them to some food. He purposely hid the bottle of liquor in the back of the fridge, not wanting any of them to see it if they ended up looking the fridge. Shinozaki never really knew about him drinking, just the smoking, and she did eventually find out about the weed. Both of those things he hadn't even touched in the entirety of this semester. He was doing really good about it. He didn't need Shinozaki knowing about one of his worst addictions.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the knife, a bit of blood on the bladed part, he sighed, realizing for what felt like the hundredth time that this entire idea was the most stupid thing he had ever done. He walked towards it, grabbing it, and putting it into one of the empty drawers. He breathed out, in the silence he could hear his heartbeat, and feel it in his temple, basically his body saying that he fucked up.

He shed a single tear, friends dead, attempted suicide, other friends wasting their time trying to help him, family doesn't love him, sister forgot about him.

The buzzer sounded, they'd arrived, and Yoshiki was sure that he had cleaned everything up, but there was the strong feeling in his head that he had forgotten something... It was probably nothing though.


	2. Curiosity

Kishinuma brushed it off, he was sure that he had gotten everything. The worst part was that he'd never be able to forget this mistake, there'd be a permanent scar on his entire forearm from this, he'd have to hide it for years. He wondered what caused him to do such a stupid mistake. Was it just the fact that he's an idiot, or the two glasses of whiskey he guzzled down when he got home. He just wanted to forget all that had happened that night. Even when they had just escaped, in the classroom, Ayumi only tried to talk to Satoshi, she even was pressing him into not walking Naomi home, clearly jealous. Yoshiki couldn't say anything though, he was jealous too, of Satoshi. It seemed as though Shinozaki only paid attention to him.

He couldn't argue now, Shinozaki was coming to his house based on a bad dream. (Which WAS in-fact a vision, but she didn't know that, for all she knew, it could of been just a bad dream.) Which proved that she at least thought of him as her friend. He thought he felt happy for once, though he didn't really remember what happiness felt like. His thoughts were interrupted by several more quick panicked buzzes. He wondered if he should open up the door at all, he didn't want to face the three. His phone beeped a few more times, followed by a lot more buzzing. Kishinuma walked quietly over to his phone.

Nakashima, 21 Sec Ago: We're here, I'm gettin a little worried myself, please answer Kishinuma

Satoshi, 13 Sec Ago: I can hear the ringtone dude, it's loud as fuck, there's no way you're still sleeping. GET. OUT. HERE.

Shinozaki, Now: Please Yoshiki-Kun, please be okay.

She used his first name? No, that doesn't count, it was over text, though it did feel awesome to think that she might be getting close enough to him to use first names. He did feel terrible though, both mentally and physically. His arm felt like it was constantly being pressed against a stove, you want to jerk, and pull away, but it's always there. His guilt only building because of this, now he had made Ayumi, Satoshi, and Naomi worry about him for nothing. He wanted them to go away, so he could just try his best to forget about his troubles. HE was still alive, HE was okay.

Seiko... She was dead. Suzumoto, dead. Yui-sensei, dead. Morishige, dead. He just wanted to go back to his old habits, and spend the rest of his life constantly high or drunk. They had died because Yoshiki wasn't able to save them. It was all his fault, all of this. He deserved everything he got. The pain, the guilt, everything. He blinked away the tear forming in his eye, the mental picture of Seiko, Suzumoto, Ms. Yui, and Morishige in his head was forced away. He didn't want to think about that anymore.

Especially Seiko and Morishige, with the new realization that Seiko had always had a secret lil' crush on him, it only made him more guilty, he shouldn't have been so dense,  
then maybe things would have went differently, and she'd still be at least alive. Morishige was Yoshiki's best friend, even though the two were opposites, they had an awesome friendship, only tested when Suzumoto started to try and get the two away from each other, because she was jealous of Yoshiki for being so close to her Shig.

He looked at the door, being broke out of his thoughts by more buzzing. He walked up to the door silently. He thought of the possibilities. Open the door and invite them in?  
No, no not at this hour, they won't. Just talk them away from the other side of the door? Sure, sounds okay.

"What do you want?" He asked loudly, trying his best to sound sleepy and bored.

"Kishinuma! Open the door, please!" A voice said from the other side. Yoshiki thought he could just tell them that he was fine, and tell them to go to bed, and he'd be fine. But hearing the hurt in Shinozaki's voice put his mind against his heart.

"What? Listen, if you're some sort of salesma-" He decided to go the 'play dumb' route, in an attempt to just make them leave, but was cut off.

"It's me, Shinozaki, please Kishinuma, open up!"

"Yoshiki, just do it." A flat sounding Satoshi demanded.

"Oh, didn't know it was you guys!" Yoshiki exclaims, as he finally brings himself to swing the door open, removing all pain from his face. On the other side of the door was Shinozaki, Satoshi, and Nakashima, all in their PJs, Naomi and Shinozaki had tears on their faces. Nakashima was crying too? Didn't expect that from the tomboyish girl. "Hello gu-" He stopped, seeing the three for the first time. "What's wrong?"

"Idiot!" Shouted Shinozaki, annoyed and embarrassed, and happy all at the same time. She lunged forward hugging Yoshiki, standing on her tip toes so she could rest her head on his shoulder. Kishinuma put on a confused face, looking at Nakashima, who was wiping away the tears on her face, sniffling.

"What... is going on?" He asked, Naomi walked up slowly joining in on the hug. This was unlike her, but he guessed that she just was grateful he wasn't dead. She probably didn't want to lose anyone else that day. Both of the girls' body heat was making him uncomfortable. He could see over the two, looking at Satoshi with a 'you mad?' face.

Satoshi just rolled his eyes, mouthing silently 'just don't try anything with Naomi...' Yoshiki nodded, mouthing back 'Now why the hell would I do that?' Satoshi grinned and shrugged. The hug went on for an uncomfortable amount of time. It got to the point where Yoshiki had to pry the two off of him.

"You never answered me, what are you guys talking about? Why are you here?" He lied, playing dumb.

"Shinozaki... thought she had a vision about you dying, she got so worried, must have been just a bad dream..." Satoshi whispered to him, Yoshiki looked back at the embarrassed Ayumi, she was looking down at her feet with a large blush on her face, twiddling her fingers.

"That's cute..." Yoshiki teased with a forced grin on his face. Causing Ayumi to break down once more into tears, looking up at him, with glassy red eyes, she lunged at him once again, burying her head in his school jacket, muffling her cries. He just sat there, patting her back, unsure of what he was allowed to do in this situation. He wanted to stroke her hair, to kiss her on the forehead, and tell her that everything was alright, but he was afraid of her taking it badly.

Naomi took a step towards Satoshi, putting her arm around him, pulling him closer to her. The sight of Yoshiki embarrassingly trying to cheer up Ayumi was cute, she could stand there and watch for eternity. She hugged Satoshi, still eyeing the two others out of the corner of her eye. Why didn't Satoshi put that much effort into making Naomi happy? It made Naomi slightly jealous of her friend. Alas, she couldn't think about things like jealousy, she was just glad to still have them.

"It's going to be okay Shinozaki, would the four of you like to come in, or are you leaving?" He wanted them to leave, even though he wished to be with Shinozaki like this forever, he didn't want to face them.

"Nah, man, sorry but we all gotta get home before our parents find out we left!" Satoshi said, giving a quick wave, before turning to leave. "See you, bro!"

"Bye, man!" Yoshiki called out, waving a goodbye. Satoshi disappeared around the corner, the sound of his rapid footsteps slowly getting more and more quiet. He was gone. Shinozaki gave another tight hug, and whispered in Kishinuma's ear.

"Please don't ever get hurt Yoshiki-Kun." She whispered, nuzzling his neck.

"I... I won't Shinoz-... Ayu... Ayumi-Chan..." He said, thinking back to what he had just done to himself minutes before, but that all went away as soon as she used his first name. FUCK. YES. A mental firework went off in his head, as he said her first name back quietly as possible. Holding Ayumi as tightly as possible without hurting her.

Would this be a good time? No, he couldn't kiss her now, Nakashima was right there...

Shinozaki gave him a quick peck on the cheek before running off, not looking back, it took a moment for him to realize what had happened. She had kissed him on the cheek,  
immediately turned around and ran off. Was she embarrassed? Yoshiki held his hand up to his cheek, an open mouth smile widening on his face. So now he was alone with Naomi... He shook his head, not wanting to seem weird, he quickly calmed himself, his arm still hurt like a bitch, though.

He turned to Naomi, and he was shocked to see her, completely still, staring into his apartment through the half-opened door. "Nakashima?" He asked, did he leave a hentai magazine on the kitchen table, did he leave a bottle of whiskey out? What was she staring at?

"Kishinuma..." She said quietly, a tremble in her voice. "What's that?" She asked quietly, raising a finger, pointing into his room. Yoshiki turned, looking into the darkness, he wondered for a moment what she was pointing at, up until he saw it.

Glistening in the moonlight, almost as if it was being presented, was his bed on the other side of the room. The sheets spotted with blood. HIS blood. He gulped, how was he going to get out of this?


	3. Consolation

Naomi looked in horror at the blood spotted sheets, her breathing now becoming shaky. She turned to him, gulping audibly. "Kishinuma?" She asked, her voice sounding broken, and she was trembling. Kishinuma quickly thought about just walking into his apartment and shutting the door behind him, leaving Naomi confused in the hallway, but that would just be plain mean, he just went through hell with the girl, he could talk through this.

"Yeah, Nakashima?" He asked, hiding both the pain, and the nervousness in his voice.

"You... Did it... Didn't you? Shinozaki was right..." Her voice whimpered out at the end, she was out of breath. The only thing Kishinuma could hear was her panicked breathing.  
Was she having a panic attack like Shinozaki did in the school? Suddenly her eyes went blank, her eyelids drooping down over her eyes. She let out a whimper as she swayed backwards, about to fall. She was fainting, or passing out, Yoshiki wasn't an expert with this things.

He lunged forward, stepping behind the suddenly faint Naomi. Catching her half way though the fall. Her body put a lot of pressure on his arm wound, sending jolts of stinging pain throughout his body. He grunted, and held her up. He used his other arm to grab onto her, and try and lift her back onto her feet. He grabbed the first place his hand could reach. It ended on a rather... private area. Ignoring the fact he was grabbing her ass, Kishinuma lifted her to her feet, holding her in place as she blinked quickly, looking around, realizing where she was, and what had just happened.

"Are... you okay?" Kishinuma asked, steadying her as she started to stand on her own.

"Yeah... but... Are you?" She whimpered out, a single tear leaking from her tear duct, running down her face.

"I'm fine, Nakashima, I'm fine..." He said quietly, looking down upon the shorter girl.

"But... Shinozaki said... She had a vision, you killed yourself..." Nakashima whimpered, her lips twitching into a frown. Her eyes now glassy and red, "You wouldn't answer any of us, and we were all worried..." Kishinuma felt sorry for her, he had caused this, but he felt worse about Shinozaki. The thought of Shinozaki made him think back to when she just kissed him. The area that her lips touched on his cheek felt hot compared to the rest of his face.

"I..." He tried to explain, but it was too late, she knew what he tried, he could see it on her face. "I had a moment of weakness, yes, but it won't happen again, so why don't I just take you home..."

"Kishinuma, are... you okay to be on your own?" She whimpered, but before he could think of an answer, she spoke again. "What... What happened?"

"What?"

"Why did you... you know?" She asked, "Try?"

"I..." He spoke quietly. "You're asking a lot here, you know?" He laughed nervously. She hit him lightly, hiccuping, and sniffling.

"Just tell me..." She demanded quietly, sniffling and sobbing.

"I..." He started, before realizing that they were still in the dimly lit hallway. "Let's just go in for a bit, I don't really feel comfortable talking about this... in the hallway..."

"Fine... but then you're telling me EVERYTHING." She demanded, hitting him lightly once more. Tears had started to run down her face.

"Okay, okay, fine." He said quietly, forcing himself not to look as if he was in pain. She dragged him by the jacket into his own room, he made sure to close the door behind them.

She stopped in her tracks, Kishinuma noticed that she was again, staring at the blood stains on his bed. "This... This is a LOT of blood, Kishinuma..." She said quietly, walking slowly up to his bed. She ran her hand over the blood, a bit rubbing off on her fingers. She sobbed once more before turning to him.

"Show me it..." She demanded once more. "Please?" She whimpered, trying her best not to break down and cry in front of one of her best friends. Yoshiki groaned in a way inappropriate to the situation. As if he was just told about homework that was due tomorrow.

"Fine..." He said quietly, clutching his jacket sleeve. He started to pull it u slowly, revealing the blood soaked bandage. "There." He said, pulling the jacket sleeve back down.

"Why?" She asked, tears flowing down her face. "Why? Do you really think that any of us would want to lose anyone else?!" She said, hitting him lightly on the chest until she fell limp, and dropped to her knees, sobbing on the floor.

He knelt down, wiping a tear off her face. "I... I was stupid... I'm sorry, Nakashima, I'm sorry... It... It won't happen again." He was now being hit by the full force of the guilt. "D- Don't tell the others, okay?" He practically begged. Holding her hands. You may be reading this as a romantic type situation, well it wasn't. He didn't see it that way at least, and he was absolutely certain that Naomi liked Satoshi.

"I... I won't Kishinuma..." She said, standing up, and hugging him closely. "Just... Don't be an idiot again, okay?" She laughed nervously.

"I won't Nakashima, now... Don't you have to go home?" He said, pushing her lightly away from him. The two had always really never talked to each other, but since the accident,  
they both started to appreciate each other's presence. They were good friends now.

"I should... Kishinuma?" She sniffled once more, she had stopped crying now, and was just thankful that her friend was still alive.

"Yeah?" He asked, thankful to BE alive. He was once again thinking about how stupid he was to try to do what he tried to do.

"I can't stop thinking about Seiko... And... and the worst thing is..." She started choking up once more. "No one remembers... any of them. Morishige, Suzumoto, Seiko, and Yui-sensei..." She sobbed, curling up into a fetal position on his couch. Sobbing and whimpering, hiccuping and sniffling.

"What?" Kishinuma voiced, not believing what he had just heard.

"Everyone else has no idea that they even existed!" She broke, suddenly grabbing onto Yoshiki. "All the pictures of any of them have the faces blanked out," Her voice cracked,  
as she buried her face into his chest.

Kishinuma was shocked from the news, he hadn't really talked to anyone since they had gotten back, so he was hearing this for the first time. He held her as she cried. A blank look upon his face. All his fault... He deserved this. They had been erased from time...

"I... I'm sorry..." He spoke quietly. "I should of done more to save them, it's all my faul-"

"No, no it's not." She cut him off. She thought back to Seiko, how... how it was all her fault that she died... "I... I caused Seiko's death..."

"How so?" Kishinuma asked, expecting her to say something like 'I could of done more to save her' or something along those lines.

"I..." She choked up, no one else even knew it yet, was she okay with him knowing? "I..."

"It's okay, Nakashima, if you don't want to talk about it, I'll take you home, and we can get some sleep." He said, she was still leaning on him, her head resting on his shoulder.

"I... got possessed... And I... I..." She finally spit out. "The next thing I know, she's hanging in the bathroom... barely alive... and I couldn't save her in time..." Naomi finally told him. The guilt in her voice was much more than Kishinuma felt.

"Oh..." He didn't expect her to literally be the cause of Seiko's death. "I'm... Sorry Naomi..." He realized very quickly he accidentally let her first name slip. "S-sorry... I didn't mean to..."

Naomi looked a bit surprised at first at the use of her first name, but quickly eased into it, nuzzling his shoulder. "It's fine Yoshiki..." Her face lit up. She sniffled and hiccuped.  
Letting out a few last sobs before just sitting in silence. He enjoyed their friendship.

"You... Should go home now..." He said, standing up. Naomi looked at him, wiping some of the tears off her face. She looked at him, his hair dimly glowing in the moonlight.  
She appreciated him as a great friend. She sat up quickly, hugging him, she hiccuped one more time, nuzzling her face into his chest. "Er... Nakashima...?"

"Never do something so stupid again, okay Yoshiki?" She asked, more like demanded, but used his first name once more. "I don't want to lose anyone else..." He could hear her voice crack up when she thought of the people that died in Heavenly Host.

This was a rather romantic scene, if Yoshiki hadn't been in love with Shinozaki, and Naomi with Satoshi, the two would have reacted differently to the situation, but as the two saw each other as close friends, it was a lot less awkward.

"You should get going Nakashima." He said, breaking the silence. He wiped another tear off her face. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

"You sure?" She asked, loosening her tight hug, looking up at the taller man.

"Well now I am..." Kishinuma spoke, patting Nakashima on the head, ruffling her hair. "Do you need any help getting home?"

"No, I'm only actually like two blocks away, cool huh?" She said, a blush on her face, she was admittedly shy, despite being close friends, the gender difference made it quite awkward for her. Though she was female, and she had always heard that females don't really think about the subject, she had quite a lot of dirty thoughts. About pretty much anything. Though she didn't voice it like her perverted friend Seiko... Seiko... The thought of Seiko nearly bringing Naomi back down into her crying state.

"Oh, well then, I'll see you around... Tomorrow I guess..." Kishinuma expressed, scratching the back of his head. Naomi walked silently to the door, before leaving, she turned around once more.

"Kishinuma? Don't tell Satoshi about what happened tonight..." She spoke. "And don't do anything idiotic again, please?" She left before he could answer, shutting the door behind her. What did she mean 'Don't tell Satoshi?' She must be just being cautious. If Satoshi thinks that something's going on between Naomi and Yoshiki, he wouldn't like her anymore.  
He assumed that's what she meant, and just flopped onto the couch. His mind was drained of all things he could think about, so he stared mindlessly at the ceiling.

Up until he drifted slowly to sleep.


	4. Hope

Kishinuma opened his eyes slightly, but instantly regretted it. Light hit his half-awake eyes immediately, shining in through the window. What time was it? His arm still stung painfully, he didn't want to move. He opened his eyes once more, this time prepared for the bright light shining through the windows. He wondered if he should even go to school today, but... He remembered last night. Heavenly Host... The promise everyone made to come back to school the next day, even though they'd want to stay home. He sighed, knowing he should go despite not wanting to. Shinozaki wouldn't like it... Speaking of Shinozaki, the memory of her giving him a quick kiss on the cheek was stained in his mind, suddenly replaying over, and over and over.

Yeah, he SHOULD go to school today, for everyone else's sake. He didn't want to make anyone worry about him. He remembered what Nakashima did last night, she knew what really happened, Yoshiki wondered if she had already told the others. He groaned, getting up from the couch. What time was it? He grabbed his phone from his pocket,  
revealing it to be 9:52 AM. He had missed the first, and almost the entirety of the second class! Well, it DID mean that he didn't have to do Math, or English. He hated English.  
Stupid Americans, and their... Their language!

He realized he must have made the others think that he was skipping, and he decided he should probably leave as soon as possible. What if Nakashima told them, because she thought that Yoshiki might have started to hate them? Kishinuma realized he was just being irrational, she'd keep the secret safe. He was about to start getting ready for school when he realized he was already in his school uniform, and he had showered before he went to sleep, so he didn't smell at all. He smirked, ruffling his hair out of the 'bed-head' shape and into his usual hairstyle.

He walked out the door, walking past the other apartments. Heading down a few flights of stairs, and there he was, on his way. He pushed open the lobby door, heading out on the busy street. People doing early morning shopping in the markets around his home. Not very many people his age, as school had just started, and it was a Wednesday. He walked past people, not talking to any of them. The early morning sun beaming down on him, and warming up the air around him.

It wasn't far from school, he only lived about five blocks away. He wondered which one of these houses was Naomi's, as last night she stated that she only lived two blocks away. He thought about what Naomi had told him the other night. No one remembered any of the people who had died in that damned school? It was terrible. Yoshiki didn't know how this day was going to go, but he was sure it wasn't going to be fun. He sighed, seeing Kisaragi Academy in the distance. Everyone was already inside, so it seemed abandoned as you looked at it. He checked his phone once more. 10:02 AM.  
The next class had just started... Chemistry? Yeah, he brightened a bit, Satoshi was his lab partner, and he was happy to be be able to spend some time with his best friend.

He walked silently up the front steps to the door, opening it, revealing the fresh sent of recently cleaned floors, and perfume. Geez, those girls in freshman year put WAY too much of that shit on. He walked silently to the chemistry room, the closer he got, the more he could hear friendly talking from inside. The class hadn't officially started yet, so the teacher was out getting coffee or something, while all the students talked.

Yoshiki opened the door, closing it quietly behind him. Over the talking, no one heard him enter. He looked around the room, half expecting to see Shinohara, Suzumoto, and Morishige, but sadly did not. He looked over at his table, Satoshi sat there alone, talking with Naomi, the two of them looked saddened. Shinozaki was not in the room at the time.

Yoshiki walked up slowly, slumping his backpack, making an audible thump. Satoshi and Naomi both jumped, and turned to him. Satoshi looked happy to see him, and Naomi looked relieved.

"Hey, Kishinuma..." Satoshi said glumly. "Have you found out yet?"

"What?" He replied, sitting down. Naomi looked down at her feet, she looked as though she could cry, but obviously was hiding it from the rest of the class.

"Shinohara, Suzumoto, Morishige, Yui-sensei?" Satoshi said quietly. "No one else remembers them!" He hissed, his face showed so much emotion. Sadness, anger, regret,  
and thousands of others that were too complicated to put into writing.

"Oh... Yeah, I... I found that out yesterday..." Kishinuma replied, sitting down at his desk. "Is Shinozaki okay?" He noted that Shinozaki's chair had been pulled out, so she had been there before, but left.

"She left quietly when she mentioned Yui-sensei to someone, and they didn't know who she was." Naomi let out, "She looked pretty sad, but... Knowing her she'll be back before class starts." The three exchanged looks, Naomi looked at Yoshiki with eyes of worry. She was the only one who knew what he had done last night. She was happy that he ended up showing up, and she knew that Shinozaki would be happy when she came back to see him.

The bell went off, everyone started quieting down, knowing that the teacher was on his way back. The door opened, and in an instant everyone went quiet. Shinozaki stepped in, and there were sighs of relief from most of the people in the room. Shinozaki looked glum, she sniffled quietly, but no one seemed to hear it. She looked around the room quietly, before realizing Yoshiki was sitting next to Satoshi, happily looking back at her. It seemed that all of her worries had melted away as she looked at him. She never really thanked him, you know? She never once thanked him for always having her back, looking back on it, she realized how much he tried, and she always just asked about Satoshi.

She remembered when he warned her about the anatomical model moving behind her, and she thought he was just trying to scare her, so she yelled at him, told him that she hated him, wished she was with Mochida. She only said this of course because she really WAS scared. It wasn't until the anatomical model wrapped it's arms around her that she instantly regretted everything. Yoshiki then managed to save her, pulling her out of the monster's grasp. She didn't even thank him then, not even a 'sorry for saying such mean things to you'.

It wasn't until the night before, that she realized she had more feelings for him than originally thought, he had always had her back, done everything she wanted, he even almost died for her in that school, and not once did she ever return the favor. She felt like a defenseless child due to that, and she hated it, but she owed Kishinuma her life.

It was at that moment, when she awoke from a nightmare about Yoshiki dying, that she realized she had feelings for the boy, and it wasn't until she saw him, standing in that hallway, that sh decided to act on the feelings, giving him a small kiss on the cheek before embarrassingly running away.

She smiled at the boy, running up to him, and hugging him quickly before anyone saw besides Naomi and Satoshi. She looked happily at Yoshiki, not knowing what to say. She never was good at romantic type situations. She didn't know what was appropriate and what wasn't. She just stared awkwardly into his eyes as he grinned, trying not to laugh at the embarrassed Ayumi. He finally let out a small chuckle before the embarrassed Ayumi looked away, a frown on her face.

"Idiot..." She said quietly. Not liking being made fun of. She was suddenly pulled into a tight hug. She fought it for a moment, not wanting to be seen by anyone in the class.  
Eventually she gave up, slowly closing her eyes, hugging back. "I... I lo-"

The door suddenly opened again, Yoshiki suddenly pulled back, sitting in his seat quietly, as the teacher walked in. Ayumi was left there, standing awkwardly. "Ok, everyone to your seats, we're going to learn more about carbon today..." The teacher said. Ayumi and Naomi went to their table together, and sat quietly.

"Ok, so today, we're learning about carbon, as you all know, carbon is what makes up most of the..." The teacher continued talking, but Yoshiki zoned out, the pain in his arm was a stinging, cold yet burning feeling. He was hiding it well, his face looking as though he was just a bored teen. Naomi looked at him every now and then, eyeing his left arm. Had she imagined the night before? No, no of course not, but that meant that Yoshiki was sitting through class with an immense amount of pain, and hiding it excellently.

"So can anyone repeat the steps for me?" The teacher asked. A student in the back raised her hand, naming off the answer. "Good, now listen to me..." Yoshiki zoned out again, gripping the wound lightly through his jacket with his other hand. He let his face twitch slightly, his bored face twitching into a pained look, but it only stayed for a moment.

Shinozaki couldn't help but stare at Kishinuma, but for a completely different reason, for once in her life she started to ignore the teacher, she knew all of this stupid review anyways. She couldn't help but get a few thoughts about the two spending the night on the beach, kissing romantically, then... In the moonlight, Yoshiki would touch her lightly through the clothes, being ever so gentle on the smaller girl, Yoshiki would pull her skirt slowly down, revealing her p-

Naomi elbowed Shinozaki, breaking out of her trance. Shinozaki's face flushed as she cursed herself for being a pervert, she knew it was human nature, and perfectly natural for a girl her age, but in class? Seriously?! Now wasn't the time for that. Naomi had elbowed her because Shinozaki had been staring at the back of Yoshiki's head, her eyes half open, her legs rubbing together uncomfortably under the table. Naomi was starting to get a bit weirded out, being only inches away from her aroused, fantasizing friend.

Shinozaki snapped out of it, going back to listening to the teacher, but every few moments, she'd take a split second peek at Kishinuma, sad knowing her fantasies would never become his reality.

Minutes added up, turning ever so slowly into an hour, as the end of class neared, the teacher asked Satoshi to pass out the homework. A sheet of paper with the periodic table on it, they had to divide it into every section correctly. It seemed easier than normal, but he was thankful. Satoshi didn't want to spend the rest of the day doing homework.

He passed out two to every table. He gulped as he saw an empty table. Where Shinohara and Morishige used to sit, and then he turned to see a table with only one person.  
Suzumoto used to sit there... Her, along with Seiko, Yui-sensei, and Morishige's absence brought a... darker tone to the room. Less joking around, less harmless boob/dick grabbing from Seiko, and less laughable stereotypical nerd comments from Morishige.

Satoshi finished the passing out, returning to his seat silently. Had Seiko been there, she would've made a dirty joke towards him, or flirted with him just to fluster him, or even groped him. He was sad that she was no longer there, and NOT JUST BECAUSE HE WASN'T GETTING HIS DICK GRABBED. It was because Shinohara was the life of the room, and it was sad that even some of her 'unluckiest' of victims among the boys AND girls now had never heard of her.

He sighed, thinking of Suzumoto's nice personality... Yui-sensei's supporting role in ALL of their lives, Morishige's smart and creative look on things, and Shinohara's... Interesting personality. They all had a special place in EVERYONE'S heart in Kisaragi, and now, everyone except Yoshiki, Satoshi, Naomi, Ayumi, and Yuka had never heard of the four.

It was saddening.

The first bell rung, it was time to get to the other class. Everyone packed up silently at first, but eventually some people started laughing, and messing around with their friends as they left the room. The four, on the other hand, walked out silently, Naomi and Shinozaki glancing at Kishinuma every now and then, both for completely different reasons.  
The four turned the corner, Shinozaki in front.

Suddenly she stopped, causing Naomi to almost fall on her face, stopped by Satoshi and Yoshiki held up at the same time. Shinozaki couldn't believe what she had just saw,  
it was amazing, and terrible at the same time.

It seemed impossible, but... For a split second she could have SWORN that she had seen all four of them... Shinohara, Morishige, Mayu, and Ms. Yui just standing there, staring at them. Even though they were gone in the blink of an eye, Shinozaki could feel their spiritual presence. What was going on? Weren't their souls trapped in Heavenly Host? Was there even a Heavenly Host anymore? Last they saw of it, it was slowly breaking down, destroying itself from the inside. Could it be... That when it disappeared all of the souls escaped?

For the first time all day Shinozaki had a bit of hope for the future.


	5. Memories

_Yoshiki sat among the students at the lecture. He wondered if he could get a bathroom break to smoke a little. He didn't have any REAL friends, and he no longer had a family. They had disowned him. The lecture was on peer pressure, bullying, all that type of stuff. The lecture slowed to a stop, and everyone around him started to talk to their friends, lucky bastards... Happy faces all around him._

_He wondered if one of his stoner buddies was going to have a party any time soon. Of course, his stoner 'buddies' weren't real friends. They'd trade Kishinuma's life for a bag of weed, but he was lucky to at least have them. The lecture was now over, and everyone was free to leave. It was lunch hour, so Kishinuma had a solid 60 minutes to find one of his stoner friends, and take a load off with them. He turned, ready to find them, but ran straight into a small girl._

_"Oh, sorry kid," Kishinuma said, reaching down blindly to help her. "Didn't see you there."_

_"I'm not a kid..." The girl grumbled, standing up on her own. It was Shinozaki Ayumi, class 2-9's representative. She was what... 16 now? And she still looked like a small child,_  
_heh, not very lucky for her. Only a day before had she stopped him from hitting the gym teacher, and then dropping out. The only reason he was still in this school was her. Her inspirational words the other day had helped him more than she could imagine._

_"Oh, sorry, Shinozaki-Chan..." Kishinuma panicked, "Are you okay?" He took a step back, Ayumi was rubbing her forehead, a pout on her face. She truly DID look like a child. She nodded, realizing that it was Kishinuma, a delinquent that she had talked to for the first time only a day before._

_"I'm fine Kishinuma..." She said, rubbing her head._

_"You don't look like it..." Kishinuma replied, "Really sorry, by the way." People ignored the two, walking past them as they stood in the middle of the classroom. Most of the people in the room had already left for lunch. "You know I never really thanked you for yesterday..."_

_"It's fine Kishinuma, not a probl-" Ayumi was cut off by one of her friends popping into the room._

_"Shinozaki! Everyone's ready to eat, c'mon, I'm tired of saving you a seat at the table!" A taller girl said, she had short hair, and a... Larger than usual bust. Shinozaki turned to the girl._

_"Okay, Nakashima, I'll be right behind you," She said. She turned back to Kishinuma, backing away. "Bye, Kishinuma!" She said, turning, following Nakashima out of the room. Yoshiki stared at the two girls'... I'm just going to put it bluntly, he stared at their asses as they walked out of the room, see how much he's changed?_

_'Now,' He thought 'Time to find one of the guys...' He went out the door, turning to see the two girls go around the corner, he thought quickly of all the smoking spots the group had. Realizing one was really close, he figured at least ONE of them was there. He went down the opposite path, heading for the school janitor's quarters. The janitor only shows up on weekends, and HE smokes, so he doesn't notice when his room smells like smoke and weed. He creaked it open, checking to see if anyone was in there. No smell... So none of HIS friends were in there at the moment. He sighed, closing the door again._

_He decided to go to another one of their close spots. He turned the corner, suddenly running into something, someone going the speed of a bullet rammed straight into him,_  
_by the grunt, and the pained moan that followed it, the culprit was female. Why must Kishinuma be constantly running into girls?_

_He opened his eyes, looking down at the girl. It was a girl that seemed to be the same age as him. Wearing the official Kisaragi High school uniform, cute little skirt and all.__He hated to admit it, but from where he was, and the way the girl was sprawled out on the ground, he could see her panties. He looked away. Wondering if he should say anything, or just run._

_"Are... You okay?" He asked quietly, kneeling down and reaching a hand out. The girl had brown hair, combed into curls, she seemed as though she was a bit shorter than that other girl, Nakashima was it? Yeah, he remembered now._

_The girl opened her eyes, grinning devilishly as she saw him. Something inside of him wanted to run, like instincts left over from evolution. She grabbed his hand, pulling not herself up, but him down on top of her. "Oops..." She said quietly. Kishinuma stared at the girl like she was an alien, trying to get up, but she gripped him, holding him down on top of her. Her warm breath hitting him on the face._

_"Er... Um..." Was all he could get out, staring at the girl._

_"Hello!" She said happily. "I KNOW I haven't seen you before, I'd remember such a face..." The tone of her voice drove him crazy. He gulped, before yanking away from the girl. Standing up over her. No one else was in the entire hall._

_"This time, pull yourself off the ground, not me onto it." Kishinuma ordered flatly._

_"Aww... You're no fun..." The girl said, pulling herself off the ground, and onto her feet. She laughed awkwardly. Yoshiki noted things about the girl, her beautiful eyes, larger than usual breasts, the girl was taller than Shinozaki, but not as tall as Nakashima._

_"Are you okay?" He asked flatly again, not wanting to waste his lunch hour._

_"Yeah, name's Shinohara, what's yours?" The girl said, she didn't seem that shy at first, but when she was actually striking up a legitimate conversation with him, she started to get flustered and had a bit of a trouble managing to speak exactly what she was thinking._

_"Kishinuma." He spoke flatly, he then walked passed her, not looking back, he was done with this lunatic, if only he knew that later that school year, he'd have to deal with her every day._

_"W-Wait! Shouldn't we at least talk a bit fir-" He shut the door behind him, cutting Shinohara's voice off. It seemed a bit mean, yes, but so was pulling a dude down on top of you in public. So they were both at fault in this situation. Kishinuma checked his group's next smoking area, the boys bathroom, of course he wouldn't do it in here anymore, he had only just gotten caught yesterday. He was glad that the gym teacher was stupid enough not to tell the school board about Kishinuma smoking in school._

_He checked inside, knocking four times really fast on the wall, this was something that the group had made up. You're supposed to do this whenever you enter one of the smoking areas. No knocks back, no one was here. He sighed, mentally groaning, he should just give up at this point, he was spending entire lunch breaks just looking for a good place to smoke. He'd go through the school day hungry several days in a row. He sighed once more._

_He left the bathroom, turning to see the girl once more, standing patiently outside the bathroom. He jumped as he saw her, not expecting to see anyone. "AH! Fu-" He stopped,_  
_seeing the girl hide a giggle._

_"Hi!" She expressed excitedly. "Do you want to come to lunch with me and my friends, Kishinuma?" Without letting him answer, she started dragging him down the hall, towards the lunch room. He didn't fight it, it was about time he ate something. Shinohara had persistence at least, he liked that._

_It took the two a few minutes to get to the lunch room, as the sound proof door opened they suddenly were hit by waves of thundering voices. People shouting excitedly, having the time of their lives with their friends. He felt uncomfortable being pulled by the hand in front of everyone (Not that anyone was looking), it may have looked like they were holding hands._

_She walked straight to a table in the corner, a bunch of people already sat there. Yoshiki recognized two, Shinozaki and Nakashima. Then there were another three that he didn't. A nerdy looking boy with blue-ish black hair, and glasses, and a short girl, with short hair, a hair clip that looked like two pearls in her hair. Then there was a skinny boy, brown hair, looked like the traditional pansy. Seiko pushed Yoshiki down into the chair, sitting down next to him. The group stared at Yoshiki and Shinohara._

_"Hey, guys!" Shinohara expressed. "I brought a friend, I hope you don't mind!" She said, patting Yoshiki on the back. Shinozaki and Nakashima looked at him, there was an awkward silence from everyone in the group. He thought that he should just leave. Seconds away from leaving, Yoshiki was stopped by Shinozaki speaking up._

_"No, it's fine with us, Shinohara, in fact, I've met Kishinuma before." Shinozaki spoke. "He ran into me earlier at the assembly. Literally." She didn't include the part about yesterday, she left out the part where she stopped him from hitting the gym teacher. Yoshiki was thankful for that. He didn't want the others to know about that._

_"NO WAY." Shinohara expressed, on the brink of bursting out laughing. "I met him cause he ran into me!" She burst out laughing, laying her head on the table. Shinozaki,_  
_Nakashima, and the two he didn't know started chuckling a bit. "Man, Kishinuma, you should be more careful!"_

_"Actually, I was standing still, YOU ran into me." He pointed out, a small grin on his face. Shinohara was silent for a moment._

_"Same thing!" She said, after a moment's thought._

_"Uh, no." He replied. Across the table, the two people he didn't know laughed at the conversation Shinohara, and Yoshiki were having._

_"So, Kishinuma, I'm Morishige." The nerdy looking boy said._

_"I'm Suzumoto!" The shorter girl announced, she was all jumpy, bouncing up and down in her seat as she waved her hand in the air as she announced her name. She looked genuinely excited to have met Yoshiki. Did... Did he have friends now? No. No he didn't, he reassured himself that by the end of lunch, they'd hate him._

_The scrawny boy spoke up, "I'm Mochida, but you can call me Satoshi like most everyone else."_

_Yoshiki wasn't used to people actually talking to him, he didn't know what to do, or what to say. He just sat there, silent as Shinohara practically pushed herself onto him._

_"Does... Does she usually act like this?" He asked, pointing to Shinohara, who burst out laughing._

_"Oh, Kishinuma, you should spend your lunch break with us EVERY DAY." She laughed, hugging him forcibly. Her chest pressing against him in an awkward way. _

_"Yes, Kishinuma, she's ALWAYS like that." Nakashima joked._

**Okay, what do you want next, some more flashbacks of before Heavenly Host, or the main story? Leave a review telling me which one you guys want.**


	6. Possibilities

**(Author's Note: Since I started this before I knew what happens in Blood Drive, I'm just going to exclude any of that from the story, in this, the entirety of Blood Drive doesn't happen. Don't think that means that Ayumi won't still be trying to bring back the others, that just means she won't do the same things as in Blood Drive (Chapter) and Blood Drive (Game) So yeah, I'm just abandoning the canon story after Corpse Party, because I'd like to think that it'd be over for them (Mostly) after the events of the first one, and not them just getting into deeper shit.)**

Ayumi would have to wait for them to be in a private place to break it to the others. Their spirits are here! That means there must be a way to bring them back, or at the very least restore everyone's memory of them, and everyone else who went to that hell hole. Ayumi had caused it, she was the one who brought the charm in the first place, she had to be the one to fix it.

Yoshiki noticed that for some reason, Shinozaki suddenly looked a lot happier. She looked as if a bunch of stress had been taken off of her. Kishinuma knew better than to bring it up in public though. It most likely had something to do with their whole ordeal yesterday. Ayumi looked over to Satoshi, did she still like him? Not even she could tell.  
She had spent her entire childhood crushing HARD on him, so her crush on him couldn't just be killed off that easily, yet... Kishinuma had done so much... He even offered to sacrifice himself in order to keep her alive. She owed him her life, yet he didn't use that to his advantage. He just treated her like the usual.

They stopped at the next class, this one was probably the hardest to go through, as it was their homeroom. Ms. Yui's room. As soon as Ayumi walked into the room, she felt... Off. She couldn't describe it, but she felt as though there was something there, but there... Wasn't. She kept seeing shadows out of the corner of her eye, revealing nothing to be there when she turned her head. It was slightly... Er... Spooky, but she didn't mind.

"Ms. Yui?" She whispered, seeing the shadow once more, as soon as she spoke the name, the shadow seemed to disappear and didn't appear for the rest of the class. The entire hour consisted of Ayumi once again staring at Yoshiki, peeking over to Satoshi every now and then, seeing him also deep in thought. She realized that being in this class must have been just as bad for them as it was for her, EXCEPT the fact that she could sense something... Or someone in the room. It made her happier to know that even if no one else remembered the four who died in Heavenly Host, and even the others from the other schools, that their souls were still here.

Anyone with the 'gift' will easily be able to sense them, and maybe even return everyone's memory of them, Shinozaki only hoped the gifted one who managed to do this would be her. She needed to redeem herself in the eyes of the fallen, who she assumed all blamed her for their deaths. She sniffled quietly, not wanting anyone to hear her depression over the teacher's lecture.

She snapped back into reality, jotting down a few notes, sadness wrapping around her when she once again looked at the new teacher. Not Ms. Yui. Not at all.

Naomi sat in the back of the class, she hadn't even been paying attention to the teacher, not now. She had her notebook out and pencil drawn, yet she wasn't writing notes. A few expertly drawn sketches of a beautiful young woman with two large curls in her hair, a devilish glint in her eye, even noticeable through the paper.

She didn't want to forget Seiko's face. Luckily a few months before, Seiko had herself portrayed by an artist, giving the gift to Naomi for her birthday. Naomi didn't really get it,  
as a picture of the gifter wasn't normally something you'd get for a birthday, yet... Now Naomi was thankful beyond belief.

With all of the faces blotched out, she was worried that she'd start to forget the faces of the fallen... Luckily, Morishige had a few sketches of himself he had done for art class,  
It was hanging in the public art museum, being an expertly drawn picture, it was accepted by the Museum. Later that day, Naomi planned to buy it.

There, she wouldn't forget Morishige's face.

Seiko's birthday gift wouldn't allow Naomi to forget her face, Naomi thought of hanging the pictures in her bedroom somewhere.

There, she wouldn't forget Seiko's face.

She didn't know about Mayu, was there any good drawings of her? She thought of going to one of those 'you describe it, I paint it' type things. She needed to do it soon, while Mayu's face was still fresh in her mind.

With a little work, she wouldn't forget Mayu's face.

Ms. Yui, being a teacher at the school, had a painting of her in the hall near the entrance, like all teachers that have ever taught there. When Naomi had arrived in the school that morning, it was gone, she asked around, and everyone said that the painting there was of someone who seemed to have never worked there, so they took it down.

Naomi offered them money to take it, yet they gave it to her for free, she rolled it up, placing the expertly, dead on painting of Ms. Yui into her backpack.

There, she wouldn't forget Yui's face.

Naomi grinned, she had this all planned out. Those four would live on through her memory. Despite everyone calling her crazy, she had to. She peeked up to Satoshi, then to Kishinuma, then to Ayumi.

She didn't want to say it, but now... Those three were the closest thing to a family she had now. Her own mother calling her a crazy person when she started crying about her newly deceased friend. Naomi looked at the trio.

Ayumi was like a sister to her now, being her best friend.

Kishinuma was like an older brother, with the knowledge of his attempted suicide... She had to watch over him, make sure he didn't do something that stupid again.

Satoshi... He was her one and only. She needed him in her life, and she was pretty sure it was the same for him. She wished he'd just ask her out already, but of course, Satoshi never was one for romance. Being as dense as Osmium.

She looked down to the drawing that she had taped to the inside of her notebook. Seiko... It was all her fault... She had yet to tell anyone besides Yoshiki about what really happened... She had to do that... To tell the others.

She thought momentarily about what Yuka was handling it, sure, she LOOKED really young, but she was 14 and a half, so she wasn't much more of a child than the 16 and 17 year olds. Yuka really didn't know any of the people in the group that had died, so she probably wasn't hit on a personal level, but Yuka was a caring person, so Naomi assumed she took their friends' deaths to heart.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Yuka sat in class, awkwardly doing the math homework at the end of class, hoping to get it done so she didn't have homework. She felt a poke to her side. She looked over revealing it to be Satsuki, her perverted best friend. Satsuki was a lot like what Yuka imagined Seiko to be like before she had died, and been erased from everyone's memory.  
Always listing off her cup size and measurements whenever she introduced herself to a boy she thought was even semi-cute.

Yuka looked at her friend with a curious look.

"Psst!" Hissed Satsuki. "What's the answer to number one?" She asked, a nervous smile on her face.

"You're still on number one?" Yuka asked flatly. "It's been half an hour since we got this passed to us!" She whispered to her friend in the back of the classroom.

"I... Was talking to someone." Satsuki asked, a red tint appearing on her face. She glanced over her shoulder every now and then, revealing a boy that Yuka had never talked to sitting behind her friend, he grinned devilishly.

Yuka could have face palmed, but she resisted the urge, and tilted her paper slightly for her friend Satsuki to see. Satsuki nodded, and quickly whispered a thank you, while jotting down the answer to the simple math problem. She immediately went back to whispering to the boy. Yuka rolled her eyes, and continued on to her homework, the thought of Seiko, Mayu, Morishige and Ms. Yui's deaths still fresh in her mind. The thought of Kizami and what he could have done to her had he caught her... She gulped, trying to focus on her homework.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The bell rung, lunch hour for high school students. Naomi got up, feeling starved as she had not eaten since lunch hour the day before. She got up, packing her stuff into her sack. Joining Yoshiki, Ayumi, and Satoshi.

They walked silently to the lunch, each of them joining the lunch line as they walked into the large, echoing, table filled room. They awkwardly stood in line, waiting for their food.

"Hey guys..." A younger male said, each of them remembered the voice. It was Mayu's adopted little brother. Him being a freshman, he usually was silent, reading books. He looked a bit... Off. Nolan was adopted into Suzumoto's family at a very young age, being able to speak fluent Japanese even though he looked and sounded as though he was an American tourist.

"Er... Hey Nolan-kun..." Ayumi said quietly. She was deep in thought. She had been there when his sister was splattered all over a wall, yet now he never knew she existed. It was a sad thing.

"Mind... If I sit with you today?" He asked, the food tray being handed to him. "I..." He stopped talking. He looked deep in thought. He blinked, and then stared blankly at a corner of the room for one moment, then looked away. Looking as if he had seen a ghost.

"No!" Naomi said, louder than she probably should have."You can sit with us anytime!"

Ayumi was focused on where Suzumoto's western adopted brother had been staring. The corner. She felt a presence there, and maybe... Just maybe... Whatever it was... Nolan could see it a lot clearer than Shinozaki.

She had to get to the bottom of this, did he remember Mayu? She received her food, leading him to a table, his dirty blonde hair almost glowing in the light. His grey eyes full of confusion, and terror. Even though he was trying to hide the emotions, Ayumi could feel them as clear as she could see him sitting next to her. He was slightly taller than Naomi, which wasn't weird, since she was rather short for a 16 year old.

"So, Suzumoto?" Ayumi suddenly asked, as the other three sat down at the table. Yoshiki, Satoshi and Naomi.

"Yeah?" He asked, looking up at Ayumi. He kept peering over her shoulder, checking the same corner he had been staring at earlier.

"Does the name Mayu mean anything to you?" She suddenly asked. Those words, and specifically THAT name thundering through his head. He stopped eating, looking up to Ayumi with shocked eyes. He looked confused, and a bit scared.

"Well, does it?" She asked once more.


	7. Choices

Ayumi stared at the younger boy, awaiting the answer. The freshman looked at her as if she had two heads. "I'm... Sorry, I uh, missed that..." He said slowly, stuttering a was a lie of course, he knew exactly what she had said, but... Did he remember? Nolan looked her in the eyes, looking as if he was deep in thought.

"Does the name May-" She started slowly again, this time a bit louder. If he remembered at ALL, this surely would get to him.

"No." He cut her off. "And I got to... Go do something with Mr. Yamasai... You know, late math homework and the such!" He made up an obviously fake excuse, getting up with his tray, dumping it out as he walked out of the room in a calm, quick manner. Dropping it off at the kitchen, then leaving the room. Ayumi knew she had hit something there.  
But what? If Mayu's little brother remembered her... Than that'd be a major breakthrough.

Yoshiki, Ayumi and the others stared in awe as he walked, obviously in a panic out of the room. "You don't think that... On some level... He remembers... Right?" Naomi asked quietly.

"That's EXACTLY what I think." Ayumi announced. "We'll get him around..." The group continued with their lunch, suddenly going back into silence as they heard the happy echos of other teens laughing, and joking around. They wished they could go back to being that happy.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Nolan walked slowly through the halls, his head felt as though it was on fire. He swore silently through the pain, stopping at the boys bathroom, and dropping onto his knees facing the wall. "Wake up." He told himself. He was dreaming, wasn't he? He had to be... His whole life... He had had a sister... Who had a homeroom teacher, and had a crush on a nerdy boy, and was friends with a perverted girl... Now... None of them seemed to exist, but... He had a tough time picking out exact memories... What if everyone else was right, and they weren't real... He let out a whimper, dropping onto his side as he remembered his sister, the only person he ever loved, and the fact that she seemingly was only his imagination his entire life.

The thing now was that... Shinozaki girl... Seemed to remember them too... Was she also part of his imagination? His mind trying to get him to believe it's own bullshit? He sat there, staring at the wall. But... What if... By some slim chance... They were real at one point? What the fuck happened to them!? People can't up and vanish off the face of the Earth! Well... Technically, people have done that before... Gone missing and never came back... But... The fact that no one even remembers them... He went over one of the only memories he could remember clearly. He had been going over this same memory all day, trying to figure out whether or not it was just a bad dream he had a long time ago, or if it was indeed... Reality.

_Mayu opened the door to Nolan's room, he was sitting on his bed, reading a book by the candle light... Though even if he had a light switch not 5 feet from him, he loved living like this... It set the mood, and it smelled nice. 2/2!_

_Mayu cheerfully, yet quietly called Nolan's name, she hadn't seen him all day, and always missed him when away for prolonged amounts of time. She quietly walked over, hugging him closely. He smiled, looking over her shoulder, reading the book._

_"I've brought a friend!" She said excitedly. "My first sleepover!" Nolan had a skeptical look on his face, though he enjoyed his sister's company, he didn't look forward to an extra person in the house to annoy him. Little did he know the horrors..._

_A girl only slightly taller than Mayu walked into the room, her hair was brown, and styled into curls, Nolan had to admit, she looked... Rather stunning. He always marveled at the High School uniforms for girls, short skirt... Sailor's top. It was basically a pervert's wet dream, though he wasn't too much of a pervert, Nolan had to admit that he was happy when he finally got into freshmen year, because all the girls in his class would stop having to wear those STUPID huge blue dresses, and finally start having to wear those revealing short skirts and cute tops... ER... NOT THAT HE WAS A PERVERT, HE JUST... Yeah... He's kinda a pervert._

_The girl still wore the school outfit, even though it was hours after the school day ended. Her eyes looking carefully around his room, ending on him. Her grin looking like that of a cats._

_"OOOOH!~" The girl squealed. "Suzumoto, you never told me you had a hunk of a brother!" Nolan knew the girl was just teasing, as he wasn't THAT attractive. Sure he was quite popular among the girls in his grade, and the one below his, but he always assumed it was because of his personality, as he always had thought of himself as way more mature than his classmates._

_"Shino...Hara...?" Mayu asked awkwardly, not sure of what to say to that, sure, Nolan was just adopted, but she still couldn't look at him in THAT way, she grew up with him, __so he was basically blood to her._

_Seiko pranced forward, almost as if dancing around Nolan's room, he stared at her, with eyes that could almost spell the words 'The fuck are you doing?'. She stopped in front of his bed, suddenly flopping into it, and onto him. He was almost flattened by her, not that she was heavy, it's just that he wasn't prepared for her to bomb him using her body._

_She sat up, almost as if holding Nolan down with her legs. She was now sitting on him in a very... Inappropriate way... He couldn't believe it! This type of stuff only happened in anime! Since she was wearing the small skirt, he was certain that her panties... and... Er... Undercarriage was grinding on his... Sensitive spot. He could feel it too, being both uncomfortable, as his 'sister' was standing the room, and annoying, since he knew that she wasn't going to actually do anything, just a bit of the dick tease, and then she was going to leave with Mayu, AND it was super arousing. Considering that Nolan was a 14 year old virgin being grinded by a 16 year old girl who looked like a super model compared to the type of girls he's used to, all he could think was. 'Don't get a boner. Don't get a boner. Don't get a boner. Don't get a boner. Don't get a boner. Don't get a boner.'_

_Suddenly the girl hopped off "That's enough of that!" She said happily, walking out of the room with a confused and shocked Mayu. The 14 year old boy sat there, sighing and groaning as he stared at the ceiling. He should just go to sleep, he was thinking, as he tried to pull his covers up to his neck. He stopped when he realized that there were..._  
_Tiny little wet spots on his pants..._

_Jesus Christ... Had she been getting aroused by that?!_

He went over the situation over and over in his head, now... Both of the girls in that story simply didn't exist, he was an only child now, with no friends, and he had never had a sexual encounter in his life. At least, in this weird... Dream world... He had gotten... To like... Second base with a girl... Despite it kinda being forced on him. He sniffled once more, missing his sister Mayu. Why... Why was the only memory of the two just him getting held down to a bed and grinded against by a beautiful pervert? Well... Heh... I guess you don't just forget things like that happening to you...

He gulped, ready to return to the lunch room... He had to tell them everything he knew... For the sake of Mayu!

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Shinozaki sat at the lunch table, it was about to end, yet at the last few minutes, Nolan walked quietly back in, no one at the table had noticed him until he sat down, a determined look on his face, his short dirty blonde hair swaying in the wind. "I... Uh... I remember..." He spoke quietly. Shocking everyone at the table besides Ayumi.

"I remember..." He said once more, almost as if he was reassuring himself.


	8. Realizations

Ayumi wasn't expecting him to return so suddenly, she had thought it would've been a few days before he came forward. She smiled happily. He remembered all of them, or just his sister?

"Do you just remember Mayu, or anyone else?" Ayumi asked, getting straight to the point. Naom and Satoshi would have thought she was being to forward... Nolan knew it, it wasn't just his sister, he knew it, these people remembered her, and all of her friends, and her teacher too. He didn't feel crazy anymore.

"A few others that just don't seem to exist anymore..." He said quietly, not wanting any of the girls in his class to hear. Naomi perked up, did he remember Seiko? Ever since getting back, she just missed Seiko. Her own mother calling her crazy for crying, saying Seiko's name in her sleep.

"Who?" Naomi asked, perking up.

"A teacher... I don't remember the name... She seemed nice... Very pretty, young... A nerdy guy that Mayu always talked about, only ever saw him once, but the memory of him is very faint... A girl... Shinohara Seiko... Very pretty, perverted... Had a fun personality..."

"Why do you only remember Shinohara's name?" Yoshiki asked, joining in on the conversation.

"I... Have many faint memories of my sister... Her teacher, the nerdy guy, and Shinohara... I only have one CLEAR memory, where I can see it as if it only just happened..." He recited the memory he had gone over all day. Mayu... Seiko... That pervert...

"What is it?" Naomi asked, knowing it had something to do with Seiko, due to him remembring her name.

"Mayu... My sister brought home a friend for the first time... We talked briefly, I met the friend... Seiko... And then they left... That's all I remember..." He left out the grinding, knowing full well that they wouldn't want to hear that part.

Ayumi knew he left something embarrassing out, though knowing Seiko, it probably SHOULD have been left out, seeing the hidden embarrassment on his face. "No other memories?" She asked, seeing this as a lead.

"Er... No... There are other faint ones... but... I can't make them out..." He answered, scratching the back of his head. He remembered faintly that Seiko had stayed another time,  
but couldn't remember anything specific. He remembered a few things about the teacher, and the nerd, but couldn't pick out specific memories.

"That's definately a start..." Ayumi said slowly.

"You know what happened to her, yeah?" Nolan asked. "I have an idea, but you KNOW, I can see it..." That shut the entire table up... How could they say it without sounding crazy? How could they break it to him... That his sister... Was dead?

"You're not hiding it very well... They're all dead... Right?" He said once more, his voice shaking. Ayumi could tell that he was avoiding choking up. The silence was enough of an answer for him. He looked down at his feet... How? Why him? Why his family?

"Yeah..." Ayumi said, almost silently. She knew that he'd want to know how... But... Would he believe them? "Are you familiar in charms, Nolan-kun?" She asked, slowly starting to ease him into the idea of Heavenly Host, and the Sachiko Ever After charm...

"Yeah, a little, I've done online research on the subject." Nolan said slowly, not sure of where this was going. Did this have something to do with his sister? Did a charm kill her, make everyone forget? He would have taken his sisters death harder, had he remembered more about her. Hard to feel bad for someone he didn't know, or remember knowing. He felt bad for not feeling as bad as you should when realizing a family member's death.

He felt bad, alright, but not as bad as he should have. But... He just simply didn't know enough about Mayu, about her friends, to feel bad about them. It's like when you hear about a murder on the news, sure, it's a terrible thing, but you don't know the person, so you don't spend days mourning about it like the close friends and family do.

"Is now the best time to explain all of that?" Naomi asked, not wanting to go back into the subject of that damned school.

"Yeah, Shinozaki, I think we should save this for a more private time..." Satoshi agreed, looking around to see the groups that were sitting at tables right next to them, knowing at least of few of them had to be eavesdropping.

Nolan looked worried, so she was real... And now she's dead... He looked back up to the corner, what WAS that, before? He had looked up in the lunch line to see a huge dark shadow in the corner, yet nothing was there to cast a shadow, and it disappeared as soon as he walked near it. M... Mayu?

He wanted his old life back, despite not remembering most of it, his true memories being covered up by fake new ones, he struggled to remember the truth. He sat there, in silence, taking in the truth. Mayu was dead, Seiko was dead, the boy, and the teacher were dead, and no one could remember them. Somehow, charms had something to do with it.

Could this be fixed? Was this a reversable thing? Could Nolan do anything to stop this? He was a firm believer in the paranormal, so he believed Mayu was out there, somewhere...  
He just hoped that that Seiko girl's ghost wouldn't be spying on him in the shower, god knows that she'd totally do that type of shit. He gulped, nodding to the four at the table.

"Alright..." He said slowly. "We'll continue this tomorrow..." Knowing that he didn't have classes with the four, so he wouldn't see any of them. The bell rung, allowing Nolan to stand up solemly. With the new knowledge that his sister that he could barely remember was dead. Along with her were three others.

He looked back at the four at the table, a slight frown on his face. Those four had something to do with her death. They. Killed. Her. Be it by accident, or on purpose, he didn't know. But the faces they made when he talked about his sister and the other victims spelled it out. They had something to do with their deaths... They were to blame.

And he was going to find out why.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Nolan sat on his bed, the house totally quiet. He sniffled, remembering his sister, how much she gave light to the house. He was an only child now. He let a single tear roll down his cheek. Nolan wasn't an emotional person, in fact, he was quite the opposite, internalizing most of his outward emotions, resulting in him having little to no social encounters. At least ones that were true. He hid the real him from the entire world, keeping a calm outlook as the real Nolan hid on the inside, scared of everything, saddened at the death of his sister.

He laid on his back, staring in the darkness at the ceiling. He let out a shaky breath, another tear surfacing to his warm face. Rolling down the side, and soaking into the sheets.  
He sniffled once more, gulping, trying his best to stop the feeling in his stomach, as if he had just saw something terrifying.

Click.

He remembered. Why now, why now? He remember another short memory. What had caused this? He went over the newly realized memory in his mind, analyzing it. Why now? What did he do to deserve this? His memories of his sister only made it hurt more that she was gone. The memory seemed to be from the morning after that sleep over from the last memory. Is something causing him to remember these in order? Was it paranormal, or spiritual in any way? These questions were impossible to answer of course, but it didn't hurt to ask them.

He analyzed the memory once more.

_He woke up groggily, sliding out of the bed and onto his feet. He pulled a red sweatshirt over his chest, pulling jeans up to his shook his hair with his hand, getting rid of the bed head. He slowly walked out of his room to hear laughing coming from the kitchen. Mom and dad had already gone to work by now, was Seiko still here? He kinda hoped not, seeing her after the awkward encounter last night may just be too much for him._

_He stepped into the kitchen, looking at the two girls sitting on the floor, sipping tea and eating crepes. What time was it? Seiko saw him first, grinning at him. He looked away from her, feeling her stare penetrate his very soul. Mayu noticed him, seeing Seiko stare over her shoulder._

_"Hey Nolan!" She said excitedly, "Sit with us and eat, we have the new ones from the crepe stand across the street!" Nolan looked at her, he couldn't say no to that face. He sat down next to her, being a good half a foot taller than her, even though he was younger by a few years. American genes, he assumed. Tallness was his thing. He ruffled her hair, much to her protests._

_"Ah it's fine, Mayu, I'll do your hair!" Seiko said happily. Girl talk... Nolan grabbed one from the box they had picked up at the shop. Getting ready to get up and leave with it,_  
_not wishing to spend much time with the perverted girl._

_"No, staaaay~" The girl suddenly begged, Nolan swore mentally, not wishing to be put in the spotlight, he turned back aorund, and sat down slowly, getting extra close to Mayu. He could feel both of the girls' stares on him. Them expecting him to lead the conversation._

_He took a bite of the snack, looking up at the two girls. "So... Uh... How are you?" He asked, expecting them to just laugh in his face at his feble attempt at making conversation._  
_"I'm great, Nolan!" Mayu said happily._

_"I'm great, too, Nolan-kun!" Seiko said, excitedly. This surprised him, first names already? It felt weird to hear his first name be spoke by the girl. He looked over to her, time to test this out..._

_"Well that's great to hear, Mayu... Seiko." He said the girl's first name on purpose, testing out how she would react. Seiko grinned as she heard her first name. Success._

_Her first step for conquering this sacred temple was almost complete._

_She giggled, Mayu surprised that Nolan had used Seiko's first name, but was surprised to see that Seiko didn't take it as an insult and looked rather... Happy... What?!_

_Mayu shook her head, being protective of her brother. He didn't want Seiko to infect her Nolan with her pervertedness, if only she knew... Mayu stood up, announcing that she and Seiko should go. Both of the two wore their skirts, and sweatshirts, Seiko's was zipped down half way, revealing cleavage... Why? Why did she do this to Nolan, she knew._  
_She knew that he looked. She knew that it bothered the fuck out of him._

_And she loved that fact._

_Seiko always assumed that she was only attracted to Naomi, but... She kinda had a crush on the kid, despite him being a year younger than her, he still looked and acted older than her by years. So much more mature than any other guy she had met. Though... She couldn't let this little crush get between Naomi and her, despite her feelings towards him, she still was focused on Naomi._

_Nothing could change that._

_Mayu suggested that she and Seiko should meet up with some of their other friends, Nolan didn't ask to go, trying to avoid social encounters like the plague. He stood up, taking the crepe with him towards his room._

_As he left the kitchen, he heard talking from the room he had just left. "Oh, I think I left my phone in your room Mayu, I'll be right back!" He heard footsteps hurry towards him._  
_He didn't know whether he should run to his room and lock the door, or just stand there, being perfectly still, hoping that Seiko would ignore him._

_She stopped right next to him, looking him in the eyes. "Hey Nolan... Is there anything bothering you? You looked troubled." She spoke in a hushed tone, not wanting Mayu to hear._

_"Er... No..." He said quietly, not sure of what the girl meant._

_"Oh, sorry then, I guess I was wrong." She said, a smile forming on her face. She quickly leaned forward, giving Nolan a peck on the cheek, and then running back to the kitchen._

_"I got my phone!" She shouted to Mayu. "Let's go!"_

_Nolan stood there in shock, unsure of what had just happened._

_Did... Did... He tried to organize his thoughts, but was unable to. He lifted a hand to his cheek, feeling the warm area where her lips had touched._

_Did... Did she...?_

_What the fuck?!_


	9. Attempted Rest

Yoshiki lay awake, staring at his 24 hours earlier had he attempted to take his own life. He kept trying to tell himself to forget about it, that it was only a bad dream. But the bandage on his arm proved it to be true. He didn't want to believe it... Not only that, but the events that took place before he tried to kill himself. All of them... They were dead... But why him, WHY THE FUCK DID HE DESERVE TO LIVE? Why him? Why not Mayu, or Morishige, Ms. Yui, even Shinohara, they all deserved to live way more than Yoshiki...

He took their place. He was in their way to escape, and took their ride home as his own. It was his fault that they were dead... He sighed, did he really deserve to live? Did he take their place in fate? Did destiny fuck up by letting him live? He... He didn't deserve it. He should just re-open the wound, this time don't answer the door...

A beep from his phone a few inches away from his hand, sitting on the bed next to him. He instinctively grabbed it and clicked it on.

_Nakashima, few secs ago: Just in case, don't even fucking think about it, Yoshiki_

Kishinuma thought about what she had just told him, had she had a vision like Shinozaki, or was she just worried? Either way... Nice girl... Supports her friends... He smartened up. Realizing that his death would only make things worse for the others.

He opened the texting app on his phone, quickly sending a message.

_To Nakashima: I'm not NAOMI, there, how do you like your first name being used? HAH I WIN._

He decided to make the conversation lighter, and hit send. Closing his phone and continuing his thoughts. He must be alive for a reason, yeah? He can't just be alive for no reason. But... He couldn't think of any reason he should be alive over any of the fallen. Luck... Luck maybe... But... That couldn't be it though, luck didn't exist... Why?!

"Why... Why? ANSWER ME." He demanded into the darkness. "Why them and not me?!" He yelled, almost breaking down into tears. He sat in the silence as he heard one of neighbors walk to the wall facing his apartment.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" His neighbor yelled at him. Kishinuma sat there in the silence, trying not to let a tear out, he still could go down with dignity... He sniffled. Noting once again that people were dead, because of him. People he knew, people he loved. Some of his only friends were dead, because they trusted him, and he failed them.

He breathed out, but this one was shaky, and as soon as it left his lips he could see it in the dim light being shined through the window. The lights of the buildings near his apartment. The neon 'bar' sign that was across the street constantly castes a deep blue light through his window at night. He didn't mind, he liked it... But now... Now it reminded him of the blue tinted ghosts inside of Heavenly Host, reminding himself that his friends are now among those spirits, because of his failure of a life.

He sat there. Another bleep filled his room with noise for a spilt second. He immediately grabbed his phone, looking at the bright light.

_Nakashima, few secs ago: It feels pretty ok actually, we should start doing it more often haha, sorry for probably waking you up btw, I just got a bit nervous_

Yoshiki typed a quick response.

_To Nakashima: No Naomi, you know people would get the wrong idea -_-. And as for the second part, I was awake anyways, so I don't hate you yet_

He flipped his phone shut, grinning at their conversation. Suddenly getting a straight face when he picked up where he had left off in his thoughts. He had to stay with them...  
He shouldn't be alive, but he should be thankful to be alive. He knew the others wouldn't take it well if he was a new victim. He gulped blinking away the tear he had been forcing down this entire time.

Another beep, he instantly clicked the phone on.

_Nakashima, now: I don't mind :) and YET? Oh come on, im not THAT bad am i?_

Yoshiki typed a quick 'yes' and closed his phone, turning it all the way off so he didn't get any more notifications. He wanted to go to sleep, Nakashima was probably only talking to him out of pity anyways. She was fine without him.

He closed his eyes, letting his tired body finally rest

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Nolan awoke in a panic, he was sweating badly, his quick breaths the only thing he could hear at the early morning hour. He had had a terrible dream... He struggled to remember for a moment before it all came back to him. He relived it in his mind.

_Nolan blinked, staring down the hallway. The wood was damp, and the atmosphere was unsettling. The sound of rain was the only audible thing. The roof dripping water down onto the rotting wood floor every now and then, slowly eroding it. He looked around briefly._

Despite it being a dream, Nolan remembered it pretty clearly, and saw it almost as if it was a memory instead of a dream. It was quite scary.

_The creepiest part of it... The splatter on the wall furthest from him. He could barely make out the details, but it looked as if someone had taken a balloon full of meat and whipped it at a wall... Not only that, but he saw a figure slowly emerge from the room next to the splatter. It slowly shuffled out of the darkness, but for some reason, the figure remained as a shadow._

_It's joints didn't move like a regular person's. It looked like something out of the grudge... He could almost hear it's bones snapping and popping as it lifted it's arm and pointed shakily at the wall. Nolan stared at it. It pointed at the splatter... Was it trying to tell him something? He couldn't move, stuck there, staring at the figure. He gulped, not being able to move his feet._

_He felt a tap on his shoulder... Someone was right behind him... It felt so real... His head forcibly turned towards it, revealing the culprit to be a spiritualized Seiko Shinohara. He was relieved that it wasn't something scarier. Though... The way she looked... It didn't look much better than if it had been a monster._

_She looked has if she had been strangled. Her neck bleeding... She opened her mouth to say something, but only a few strands of blood came out, causing the girl to cough._  
_Nolan would have felt sorry for her had it been real. He stared at the girl, he suddenly realized his hands were moving on their own, reaching out in front of him, putting his hands on Seiko's. He felt his voice start talking on it's own._

_"It'll be alright..." He said. Seiko smiling warmly, before he looked back at the figure, realizing it was indeed much closer than before, he saw it's beaming eyes glowing from the shadow it was made of. He felt it slowly stare into his soul, killing his very being. A stare he'd never be able to forget..._

He gulped, reliving the dream in his head. What did it mean? He believed fully in the paranormal, and considered this a POSSIBLE call for help from the spirits. But why him? Why would their spirits choose him to relay their calls for help? He was unsure of what exactly was going on, but realizing it was only 2:00 AM in the morning, he decided it'd be best to try and go back to sleep.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Naomi sat awake, looking at the photos she had gathered of the fallen.

The painting of Yui, the drawing of Seiko, the portrait of Morishige, and Mayu's drawing. She let a single tear out of her eye, sliding down her soft cheek and falling off of her chin onto the floor. She gulped, letting out a whimper, missing each of the people. Especially Seiko... She just wanted to see her once more... To be in her presence. Naomi flopped onto her bed, realizing it was 2:04 and she should probably be getting to sleep so she wasn't tired tomorrow, god knows she needed it.

She gasped for air, finally letting out a sob as she curled up into fetal position and sobbed into her pillow eventually crying herself to sleep, after about ten minutes.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Satoshi sat there staring at his ceiling... How had his life gotten so fucked up? Days ago he was just a regular teenage boy... Now, he had seen the depths of hell and back...  
Literally, and was now involved in the paranormal...

He didn't like it at all. He just wanted to go back to being a normal teen, having fun... He wanted life back. He wanted to tell Naomi that everything was okay, but he didn't want to lie, because it's not okay. It's not okay. Their lives were currently hell, and everyone knew it. It was terrible...

He forced himself to forget about it for just a moment as he sighed, and rolled onto his side and did his best to go to sleep.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Ayumi sat at her desk, the only light in her room coming from the laptop. Her eyes reading every line on the page. She read a line out loud.

"Next in the Shinozaki family is..." She stopped, recognizing a name she had only learned a day before. She immediately shut the laptop. Standing up from the chair. "No..." Her wide, bloodshot eyes staring blankly in the dark. "No..." She was currently in a pitch black room, the only light being shut down.

She suddenly felt light headed, and even though it was pitch black, she felt her nose start bleeding. Dripping down onto the floor. "No... NO!" She yelped, instantly fainting onto the floor, a soft thud as she hit the carpet was audible.

**AN: Okay people, there's the next chapter, be sure to review, I love reading them, it gets me off. Anywhooo~ Yeah, yeah, I got nothin' else.**


	10. Beautiful Bonds

Nolan awoke, not remembering the events of the past few days, he was in ignorant bliss... For only a few moments... It all came back to him, he sighed, realizing he was still in this terrible situation. When he had first awoke, he looked forward to seeing Mayu and her friends that day, but now, realizing that it was all impossible. He suddenly felt as if he could cry.

He suddenly erupted into panic when he realized he couldn't move. Sleep paralysis? He believed fully in spirits and demons, so this wasn't a good thing for him.

For a regular person, sleep paralysis would be something you would just wait out, you know? Something you wouldn't panic in.

For a regular person, sleep paralysis is just your body not being awake when your mind is.

For Nolan, on the other hand, sleep paralysis is the effect of a spirit or demon sitting on you. He believed in that theory fully, and this was the first time in his life he had experienced something along these lines.

He tried to move his arms, but it felt as if they weren't even there. The nerves in his body haven't even awoken yet. He couldn't move his eyes or even blink.

His nerves suddenly kicked online, letting him feel what was going on around him. There was a pressure on his chest, just as he thought. Who was it? Sleep paralysis is caused by a spirit feeling strong emotions. Strong enough to manifest itself in the real world.

Dear god please don't let it be Seiko...

She could see clearly now. His eyes being able to pick up on the glints of the other worldy being that was lying on him. Dear GOD PLEASE don't let it be Shinohara! He was certain he had seen shadows moving in the bathroom as he had taken his showers earlier. Jesus Christ this girl was pretty much haunting him. He knew it was her too.  
It had to be...

He had been told later that day by Ayumi that he can see the spirits better than the others, because I was closer to two of them before they had died. Seiko and Mayu. Why Seiko though... Why was he so close to her, based on his memories, they never did anything, but... She did kiss him... Had something happened between Nolan and Seiko that he didn't currently remember?

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The spirit after a few minutes had showed itself, yeah... Yeah it was Shinohara... She had just stared at him for a moment. Her shadow-y being just sitting on him in quite an awkward position. He wasn't scared by any means. But he was certainly uncomfortable.

Why was she being so affectionate towards him? She was a solid year and a half older than him, plus she looked... Stunning... When she was still alive, she could of had anyone she wanted. Why him?

He noted differences between him and other people around him.

He was a different race, of course, one of the only non-Asian people he had ever seen around this part of Japan. He was... A lot more mature than the people around him... But that wouldn't matter to Seiko, being around 11th graders all the time like she was, she would be used to mature. He... Was in tune with spirits. Knowing full well that they exist at this point. No doubt. That... That was pretty much it. Other than that, he was silent. Only talking when being directly talked to by a teacher, other than that, usually he would be reading or just in deep thought.

He missed Mayu. He missed his old life.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Click.

It seemed as though every morning, and every night he remembered something. He would be sure to tell them about it at lunch. Both the one he experienced last night, and the one he just remembered.

There was no question now, something paranormal was causing him to remember specific memories at specific times. Currently, he had remembered something right before he had gone to sleep, and right after he had woken up. There was no coincidence to it. Something... Unnatural was causing him to remember certain things at certain times...

He went through his memory, finding the new one he had just unlocked.

_He stood outside the school dance. Wow... His first high school dance... He clenched his fist, almost scared to go in. Mayu had left the house earlier than him in order to get there before it got too dark. She was always scared to walk around at night._

_Nolan... He loved the darkness._

_He breathed deeply in, then out. Walking through the front door. He handed a few hundred yen to the person waiting outside the dance, and walked in. Being met with music from his home country._

_Not that he ever really lived in the U.S. It's just... Both of his biological parents had lived there, so... Yeah. He never really thought about it, but now more than ever he was thinking about why his parents left him in Japan. Why they had just gave birth him, and then hitched a flight back to the U.S._

_Leaving him to be adopted into the Suzumoto family._

_He shook his head, not wanting to go over it. His own parents didn't love him enough to keep him when they first had 'em. That's just depressing. He looked around, hearing the English song._

_He didn't understand of word of it, but it sounded nice. American pop songs... They were generally... Er... Popular... Among the kids at Kisiragi, even though about half of them didn't understand a word of English. Large groups of girls danced in the middle of the dark room as the song filled the air. He was a loner, Nolan was, having no real friends..._  
_He sat down in a chair, leaning on the table as he pulled out his phone._

_A tap on his shoulder, he turned around, trying to hide the fact that he jumped more than he should have at that. A face he had never seen before... It was a girl, she looked..._  
_Thicker than most of the other girls at the dance... But certainly wasn't fat by any means. She wore glasses, and had a friendly look to her. She didn't go to Kisiragi, he knew that instantly, not having seen the girls' face at any time._

_Kisiragi let students from nearby schools get into their dances, as long as they paid. Money was money, didn't matter who it was from._

_"Hey... Um... Hi." The girl let out, nervously._

_"Oh, hey." Nolan said simply, putting away his phone. He looked at the girl with friendly eyes. She wore a jacket over her black T-shirt, and skinny jeans. She gulped once more._

_"I'm... Urabe Emi... Er... It's nice... To meet you... Er..." She motioned with her hand._

_"Suzumoto Nolan." He said flatly. Now he wasn't that great at getting hints, especially from girls, but he sensed the mood coming from this situation was a little... Er... Romantic?_  
_He didn't know this girl, yet, he connected quite well with her, not at all feeling awkward even though the girl... Emi... Seemed to be struggling._

_"The... Uh... People running this place told me they're doing a slow dance next... Sooo... And I don't have a date... So..." She let out awkwardly._

_"I'm going to warn you, I'm not popular, like at all, so... You're better off... You know..." Nolan gestured towards a few other tables where different groups of guys sat._

_"Oh, I don't mind!" Emi said happily, her eyes closed, a wide smile on her face._

_"And... I'm a freshman, so you know... Age difference." He was starting to worry, he didn't want to flat out reject a girl, but he'd rather just sit there alone the entire time._

_"Oh, it's fine, it's just one dance! Besides, you look and act much older, so it'll be fine!" Daaamn this girl was persistent. He sighed, knowing no easy way out of it. Might as well just give in._

_"Oh, well in that case, I'll be here for when the next song starts." He said, putting on a happy tone. Only one dance...Only one..._

_Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Seiko and Naomi talking, but... Seiko's eyes kept drifting over to him, Naomi also taking peaks towards him. They were obviously talking about him... But... Since this was HIS memory, and he didn't hear it, there was no way for him to know what they were talking about._

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Seiko looked back to Naomi. "Yeah... That girl definately just asked him..." She said somberly. Naomi, who was finally happy Seiko had gotten a new crush besides HER, looked at Seiko with sorry eyes. (Yes, Naomi knew, she just didn't want to make the friendship awkward by bringing it up.)

"It's fine Seiko, it's just a dance, it don't mean a thing!" Naomi looked at Nolan, trying her best to make it as non-suspicious as possible... But she was about 90% sure that he saw he anyways.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

_Nolan awkwardly placed his hands on her sides as she wrapped them around her shoulders, this was a new experience. He had not planned on this. He was about half a foot taller than the girl, as he was about 5'7, and the girl was about 5'1, or maybe just 5, or even 4'11, he was bad at guessing height, but it was somewhere around there. He spent the first half of the dance, holding her away from him, considering this to be just a friendliness dance._

_She pulled him closer, he left her chest on his. Oh sweet buttery Jesus. His mind went blank for a moment. He could feel her heartbeat, and he was certain she could feel his._  
_He looked down at her, as she looked up at him, her glasses shrouding shadow onto the rest of her face._

_"Quite an... Interesting... Way to meet someone, huh?" He joked, finally finding words to explain the situation._

_"Yeah..." She said, hugging him closer once more. The song sure was lasting... A long time... He wanted this to be over, but on the other hand, he also never wanted it to end._  
_This girl... Urabe Emi... He'd have to keep her name in mind. He was sure the two could be friends._

_As the song ended, all the people around them that were also slow dancing split, allowing for Nolan to start walking away, half thankful, and half sad that it was over. He felt a sudden tug on his shoulder. He turned, suddenly getting a small peck to the cheek. Twice in the past two days had he gotten kissed. Both by beautiful girls leagues above what he thought he could do._

_She handed him a phone number, he gulped, nodding, and stuffing it into his pocket. He walked silently over to a random table. He groaned, laying his head down. He was already so emotionally tired, he just wanted to go to sleep._

_Little did he know, Seiko had witnessed everything, the kiss, the handing of the phone number, the slow dance... Everything. She didn't like it one bit. She knew she couldn't do anything about it, but... That didn't change the way she felt._

Nolan got ready for school, memorizing every little detail of the little memory he had just unlocked within his brain. He had to tell Shinozaki, or Yoshiki, or SOMEONE about the memories he was reliving...

And that girl. Urabe Emi.

She was a victim too, he could feel it.

Whatever took Seiko, Mayu, the Teacher and Mayu's nerdy friend had taken Emi too.

There was a reason he was remembering this specific memory, that specific person.

He was going to find out what had happened to Mayu, Seiko, the teacher lady, the nerd, and Emi. He was going to find out, TODAY.

He realized something he could to make sure that Urabe Emi was also a forgotten victim. He reached for his phone that was on the bed, next to him. He quickly typed the name...

No results.

Like he had suspected.

She simply never existed.

**Okay, okay, after this, I swear stuff will start happening, I swear! Anyways, take a few seconds to review, please, I love reading them and it means a lot to me to see that you guys like my story, and even if you don't like it, if your having problems with my way of setting the characters up or something just tell me. I'll be sure to take your criticism to heart! **


	11. Past Embarrassment

Nolan sat in class, listening to the teacher. On the side, though, he was thinking deeply about the next hour. It would be lunch hour. He knew that Shinozaki had said the other day that they shouldn't discuss it in school, but HE. WAS. GETTING. ANSWERS. Whether they liked it or not. They were either going to tell him in the lunch room, or they had to get him somewhere private to tell him, because he had to know, he had to know what had happened to everyone.

He knew there had to be others too.

Other victims that even HE didn't remember.

The unlucky ones.

He grinned, hearing the bell. He could only think one thing. 'Here I come, you better be fucking ready.' He threw his notes and his text book into his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder and walking out of class. Hearing the familiar sounds of people changing classes, and going to lunch, talking in the halls. Happy conversations he saw no value in.

As he walked, he saw the shadows out of the corner of his eye that he had been seeing since his sister disappeared. Maybe it was her, or maybe a different ghost, seeking his attention or help.

He pushed the door to the lunch room open, hearing the familiar sounds of happy yelling, and laughter. Oh how he wished he could partake in it, but... It couldn't be the same.  
It didn't feel right, anymore.

He saw Shinozaki at the end of the line, he rushed momentarily to get in line behind her, not wanting to have to go through the trouble of explaining to some idiot that he NEEDED to talk to her. He tapped shoulder, the girl being quite shorter than him,

"We need to talk." He said simply, and quietly, trying to avoid any misunderstandings from nearby eavesdroppers.

"Not... Right now... At the lunch table." She hissed back, avoiding looking at him. She still couldn't face the boy. She had been there when his very sister had been splattered all over a wall. He had no idea...

They had all confirmed it for him yesterday that she was dead, but... He didn't seem to be acting any more glum today than usual.

"I remembered more... AND I'm awaiting explanations... You said we could only talk about it in a private area, if that still stands, you are taking me to said private area IMMEDIATELY after school." He said quietly in her ear.

"We'll tell you tonight..." Ayumi started. "It's a long story, and you're probably not going to believe it... You remembered more?"

"Yes, yes I did, and as for the way my sister died, and somehow became non-existent to the eyes of the world, I will believe anything you tell me, so long as you ARE telling the truth, yes?" He subtly hinted at the fact that he didn't trust the girl at all.

"Why... Why would we lie to you?" The hurt, and guilt in her voice was audible. She felt guilty about Mayu, but Nolan didn't know that.

As of now, all that he knew was that there were a LOT of people dead that weren't even remembered to be alive, and Shinozaki sounded guilty. He quietly put the two together, and came up with a small theory of some sort. But was he right? Did Shinozaki... Cause these deaths? Was she an accidental murderer? If so... He... He could forgive her... Maybe...

"Because my sister trusted you guys... Why are you all alive, and she's not?" He asked, surprising Shinozaki. She felt like crying, did Nolan not understand how much his words were hurting her? How much he was adding to her guilt.

"I- I..." The sound of her tearing up was enough to bring Nolan back down to Earth. To make him realize how much Shinozaki actually felt for Mayu's death, how much she hurt.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm sure that when you tell me what happened... It'll..." He gulped, not wanting to think about the possibilities. "It won't be your fault Shinozaki, even if it technically IS your fault... I'll forgive you... Because I know you would never knowingly do that to ANYONE." He put a hand on her shoulder, she was unsure whether she wanted to hug Nolan, and just cry while clutching him, or to push him away, call him a jerk for making her feel so bad.

So she just sat there silently, letting Nolan stand by her. She sniffled, wiping the tear away. She didn't care what it looked like to any bystanders, her sitting there, with his hand on her shoulder, she just wanted him not be mad. She was scared of him hating her for killing his sister. The charm WAS her idea, after all... But his words lifter her spirits. 'Even if it technically IS your fault... I'll forgive you...' he had said, why? Why would he just forgive her?

"Thank you..." Ayumi said quietly, fighting back any more tears, she didn't want to look like she had been crying. She couldn't resist it anymore. She needed to feel comforted. To feel like she wasn't alone.

She suddenly wrapped her arms around Nolan, both surprising him, and the person standing in line behind them. She sniffled while burying her face into his chest. He wasn't quite sure what to do with his arms, he wasn't sure whether this was an act of romance, or just her needing to feel as though she wasn't alone. He knelt down, eye level with Shinozaki.

"It's all going to be okay." He said, a small smile coming to his face. Ayumi smiled back. Once again thanking him for being inspiring to her. For not being mad. She whispered another thank you, sniffling once more. Nolan straightened up, now at least half a foot taller than the girl.

"Now, Shinozaki, I need you to understand that you could say anything about what happened to my sister, and the others, and I wouldn't hate you. You wouldn't want anything to happen to her, or anyone else." He said, as the two walked further up the line.

"That..." She sniffled once more. "That really means a lot to me..." She said as quiet as possible without being totally silent. She gulped, getting her food handed to her on a trey. Nolan soon followed.

The smaller girl smiled. It was the first time Nolan had seen her smile. It was majestic, a beacon of hope among the group of students that were now in this hell. Shinozaki smiling meant so much for the group, it meant that things were looking good for once in the past two days.

Nolan received his lunch from the young lunch lady. She was only a few years out of high school, so she looked really young and pretty. She was 'down' with the cool kids as she liked to put it, always attempting to bro-fist or high five the kids when they talked to her.

"Thank you, Sari-chan." Nolan said simply, as he took his food.

"You know, that's the FIRST time a student has even talked to me today, thanks No~ly." The twenty year old joked, using a baby-fied version of his name.

"Do- Don't call me that..." He said quietly, moving along in the line.

"We should hang out sometime!" She called towards him as he walked away. "Just like old times, except I won't have to take care of you anymore!"

"Get some friends your age, Sari!" He called back jokingly. He actually knew Sari before she worked as a lunch-lady. She actually used to babysit him!

So yeah... Seeing a babysitter every single day at school is pretty annoying, especially when she's Sari Yammito, a young, beautiful, girl. On top of that she was a major tease. Using Nolan's childhood nickname he had only just gotten away from, as the last person who called him that finally forgot.

And then she starts using it EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. SHE. TALKS. TO. HIM.

Ugh... She needed to get some friends her age... AND STOP CALLING HIM NOLY.

He shook his head, leaving the line and chuckling silently as he followed Ayumi to the table.

"Noly, huh?" She asked, finally getting out of her sad state, and giggling at Nolan's nickname.

"Yeah, now... You know, shut up about it." He said, flustered. "I'd really rather keep that from making a comeback." He said jokingly as he sat down at the table. Ayumi giggled once more, forgetting about her troubles for a single moment.

"Who's she to you, you seemed to know each other?" Ayumi laughed a bit, the rest of the group had yet to make it through the line.

"Yammito Sari... She used to babysit me..." Nolan said flatly. Ayumi giggled once more, placing her face on the table, she was now in a full blown laughing fit. Unable to stop. She lifted her face off of the table, Nolan saw that she now had tears streaming from her face, this time not out of guilt but out of pure bliss.

"Okay, okay, calm down..." Nolan said, rolling his eyes. He put two fingers on the bridge of his nose, waiting for Ayumi to stop laughing. He looked up, realizing she had stopped.  
"You done?" He asked her simply.

She giggled a bit more. "...Yes..." She said, her cheeks pink. She wiped the tears off of her face, staring at Nolan. Another person sat at the table, surprising the two.

It was Satoshi, who sat down quietly. "Hey, what's up?" He asked flatly, still in shock from the events at Heavenly Host.

"I... Uh... Remembered more, about... Mayu... Seiko... You know, but I should wait until everyone's here." Nolan said.

"Really? That's great!" He said, his face lifting. "Shinozaki... Could it be that people are slowly remembering?"

"No... So far it's only Nolan, that we know of." Ayumi let out, the two drifted their looks back to the younger, dirty blonde boy.

"Something paranormal is definately making me remember specific memories at specific times." he said, eyeing the two.

"Huh?" Satoshi asked, but Shinozaki knew what he meant.

"I keep remembering things right before I go to sleep, and right after I wake up." Nolan said.

"But... That doesn't make it parano-" Satoshi was cut off.

"If I was remembering these memories on my own, don't you think it'd be more random?" Nolan asked. "I've remembered three specific memories so far, and each one is within a two day period. If I was remembering these on my brain's natural functions, then it'd be much more spaced out, and unpredictable."

"I... I guess... But... Why would the... The spirits be making you remember... Specific memories?"

"Because it's helping me remember THEM. I think Mayu, or Shinohara, or both of them are haunting me, causing me to remember certain things at certain times. I feel their presence. Always, they're always around me, even now, I saw them out of the corner of my eyes on the way here..." He kept looking over his shoulder, slightly paranoid.

Satoshi was made uncomfortable at that fact, ghosts... Haunting Nolan?

Shinozaki, on the other hand, saw this as a huge improvement. If Mayu and Shinohara were indeed haunting Nolan, and helping him remember... Does that mean that him remembering would help them come back?

Shinozaki had to something, she'd devote her entire life to it if she had to. She'd bring EVERYONE who died in Heavenly Host back to life.

Maybe except for Kizami. According to Yuka... He was kinda fucked up.

**Okay, that's it for today, please review!**


	12. New Leads

Ayumi and Nolan shared their findings with the group. Shinozaki admitted she was related to Sachiko, and Nolan told them of his new memories.

He left out the dream, though, thinking it wouldn't be important.

They had told him to come to Yoshiki's apartment later that day. That they'd explain everything. They gave him an apartment number, an address, a key to get in, everything.

So where the fuck was he?

The four of them sat glumly in Yoshiki's apartment, not knowing where he had gone. It was 5:30 now, he was supposed to arrive at 4:00.

Naomi felt weird being in Kishinuma's apartment again. The last time she was there... She had found out he had tried to kill himself. She felt guilty too, just like he did. She had KILLED Seiko... But... She wasn't going to die, she knew that Seiko didn't want her to die after surviving Heavenly Host.

That's why she was so mad at Yoshiki for what he did. Seiko, Ms. Yui, Mayu, and Morishige wouldn't WANT to see them be hurt, they didn't want to see them go through any more pain.

Naomi gulped, looking at the sheets. At least he had the brains to clean up the place before they all got there. She looked at Satoshi, who sat on Kishinuma's couch only inches from her.

"I don't think he's showing up." Satoshi said finally, not wanting to break the news. "And I actually gotta get home soon..." The room was silent for a few moments.

"I... I do too..." Naomi said quietly, feeling Satoshi's body heat so close to her. She gulped, just wanted an excuse to be able to spend time with Mochida. Ever since Seiko's... Demise... She just wanted to be with him. Seiko always only wanted for Naomi to be happy, and... Mochida was the key to that.

Naomi knew that Seiko liked her, but didn't say anything about it to avoid being awkward.

"Well... You two go home, me and Yoshi-... Kishinuma will have to wait a little bit longer..." Ayumi stopped herself, not wanting to risk offending Kishinuma, and not wanting Naomi to realize that she liked him.

Even though it was incredibly obvious. Anyone with any sense could see how much she had begun to fall for Yoshiki.

Naomi and Satoshi got up from the couch, saying their goodbyes, and leaving together. Walking down the hallway towards the main lobby. Where had that boy gone? He was so determined to find out what had happened to Mayu, and yet, he skips out on his best chance to find out.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

_Nolan clicked on the next page, seeing the pictures of the school that was built there before Kisiragi. He gulped silently, feeling ill just looking at the place. The zoomed in on the picture, staring at the school with confusion. He looked under the picture, looking for the caption._

_"Sachiko Ever After...?" He read to himself, quietly in his room. He had just gotten home from school, and he had to go to Yoshiki's in an hour to find out more about what happened to Mayu, but... He couldn't help looking further into a little lead he had going._

_This was it... Shinozaki had made such a big deal about "being related to Sachiko" at lunch, that he was certain that this 'Sachiko Ever After' charm was ther reason for it._  
_Her death._

_He looked at the links beside the post that read "Sachiko Ever After", going to the one on the top of the list. It detailed who Sachiko Shinozaki was, and said that she and her family lived on a farm outside of the town, only coming down to shop, or go to school. Up until she was the only survivor of a brutal killing done by a school teacher at her school._

_She and her family went off the grid and moved away after that, not wishing to be in the spotlight._

_The farm where Shinozaki spent some of her time is now abandoned, and is (According to this website) the closest point between the spirit world, and our world that exists in that area of Japan._

_'I'm related to Sachiko' Ayumi's words echoed in his mind. He looked back up at the charm that was linked to this place. As the spirit in the charm was indeed Sachiko Shinozaki._  
_He printed the address onto a piece of paper, and ripped off a small bit of it, putting the address in his pocket._

_He could get back before he had to get to Yoshiki's. It actually wasn't that far away. The Suzumoto house was on the edge of town, thus he wouldn't have to walk far to get to the farm._

_He looked once more at the farm._

_He could be back before he was needed at Yoshiki's, he was sure of it._

_Bingo._

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Ayumi and Yoshiki sat alone, still waiting for Nolan to show up. The chances were looking a bit bleak now, and were slowly getting worse. They looked at each other, the last time they had been so close she had kissed him on the cheek and then ran away.

"You know, Shinozaki, you don't need to stay..." He said quietly, scratching the back of his head. The light shining through the windows glistened off of her hair and eyes. He wanted her to stay, but it didn't seem like she wanted to stay, and of course, her happiness was all that mattered.

"I kinda need to, Y...Yosh...Yoshiki," She forced herself to use his first name, wanting to show him that she liked him. "If Nolan shows up, and I'm not here, who's going to explain to him all of the spiritual things?"

"Oh... I guess... Never mind then... Shinoza- Ayumi..." He remembered to use her first name, as she had done it to him. It felt weird, but awesome at the same time. It was weird though, first name basis was reserved for REALLY close friends, family, or boy frie-

He felt her lips once again touch him, this time on the lips. He was shocked, expecting her to immediately pull away. Alas, she didn't. She stayed there, putting her hand on his shoulder, pulling herself closer to him. He stared for a moment, before closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around the smaller girl. He felt her body heat against him.

"Wow..." She said quietly, pulling away. That had been her first kiss... And it made her brain surge pure pleasure throughout her body. "That... Was better than I ever could have thought..." She smiled at the boy, unsure of what she could say to make this moment any better.

Yoshiki looked quietly into Shinozaki's eyes, the emotions running through her head were shown visibly in her eyes. All of the fear dissolving when she was in Kishinuma's embrace. Her lust slowly devouring her from the inside, wanting to be released.

The two sat on the couch, looking into each other's eyes. The only thing audible was their light breathing. Ayumi leaned onto Kishinuma, putting a hand onto his chest. She gulped,  
closing her eyes tightly. He wrapped an arm around her, lying down on the couch as leaned on him.

She lay on top of him, staring into his eyes, not sure of what to do in this situation. She gulped once more, kissing him lightly on the lips, pulling back and then nuzzling him on the neck.

She'd go to sleep like this if she could... But she had to be ready for when Nolan showed up, IF he showed up.

She couldn't hold herself back anymore, she started unbuttoning Kishinuma's Kisiragi Academy jacket. He wasn't going to argue, not now. He stared at the girl. Was this really happening? How far could this go? He'd do anything to her if he could. If she'd be okay with it.

She slipped the jacket off, pulling it off and throwing it to the side.

She admired his chest through his red T-Shirt... Wow... If she had known that he was like this... She would have smartened up sooner...

A bandage lay on is arm. She stared for a moment, not believing her eyes. She remembered the night... Her dream...

So it WAS a vision?

In her dream, Yoshiki cut his arm, and bled out, sleeping on his bed.

The bandage... It was in the same spot...

"Yo... Yoshiki?" She managed to choke out, tearing up. A few tears dripped down onto his shirt.

Yoshiki at first hadn't known what she had been staring at, he looked at where she had been looking.

'_Oh fuck..._' He thought '_I forgot..._'

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Naomi and Satoshi walked slowly down the street. The sun was high in the sky, shining down on the two. Satoshi had to admit... She was beautiful in the light.

"Naomi?" He suddenly spoke up, not wishing for the walk to just be awkwardness.

"Yeah?" She looked up at him, he stared into her eyes for a moment, not wanting the moment to end.

"I'm glad you made it out, if something would have happened to just one more person... Especially you... Then I wouldn't know what to do with myself..." He started.

"Satoshi..." Naomi trailed off, a tear coming to her eye. She knew that Satoshi would never confess to her, no matter how obvious his crush was.

"What I'm trying to say... Is thank you... Thank you for being there for me..." He said slowly as the two walked through the sunlight. Heading towards Naomi's house. Naomi was silent, taking it in.

Was that his confession?

"Satoshi... _*iloveyou*_"She murmured the last part, extremely embarrassed.

"What was that, Naomi?" He asked, a smile on his face.

"Oh... Nothing..." She said quietly, scratching the back of her head. She walked in silence for the rest of the way, not wishing for the walk to end. She loved Satoshi, and he loved her, so what the fuck was stopping them?

She had to do it, she had to.

This was it, the two were standing in front of Naomi's house, she thought for a moment before going in. She looked back at Satoshi, a grin coming to her face. She turned around quickly, pulling him closer, planting her lips firmly on his. Her eyes closed tight in concentration. Satoshi was shocked, but in pure bliss. She pulled away, wiping some saliva off of her face.

"See you tomorrow... Satoshi..." She said teasingly, so much happier now that she had done what she did.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Nolan took a step onto the dirt trail towards the farm. He could see it in the distance. As soon as he saw it, he felt an overwhelming sense of dread and despair.

"Yeah..." He said quietly to himself. "This is the place."

Little did he know, he wasn't alone...


	13. Huge Mistakes

Nolan gulped, feet away from the door of the abandoned building. The dread he felt was mindblowing, something he had never felt before.

Was it a mistake to come here?

Was he in danger?

It was only about 4:00, it was too late to show up at Yoshiki's on time, but he was certain that it wouldn't matter if he showed up an hour late. All he had to do, was go in there, check the place out for interesting things related to Sachiko Shinozaki, and leave.

It wouldn't take too long.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Shinozaki stared at Yoshiki's arm, a tear rolling down her face.

"You... You..." She started, Yoshiki didn't know what to do but sit there, besides, the smaller girl was literally on top of him, so he couldn't move without hurting her, unless she let him up. "IDIOT!" She shouted, finally breaking down into tears. She buried her face into his chest, muffling her cries. "W-Why would... You...?" She couldn't continue on with the scentence, the thought of Yoshiki's attempted suicide now fresh in her mind.

"I... Uh..." He had no idea what to say.

It still hurt like a mother fucker though. He would've thought it would have stopped hurting after a few days.

"Don't even talk, Yoshiki... You selfish... You CANNOT just come into someone's life, make them care, and then just... Just... leave!" She cried harder, gripping his shirt. He just sat there silently, how could he get out of this?

"I'm... I'm sorry..." He said quietly. He thought deeply about her words. 'You CANNOT just come into someone's life, make them care, and just... Just... Leave!' She cared about him? I mean... He now knew this, as before the girl saw his cut, she was kinda ripping off his clothes.

"Just..." She sat there silently for a moment, staring at the boy. She saw his regret, another tear rolling down her cheek.

They sat there in silence, she sat on him, he had to admit, their position was... Quite erotic. She there, placing a hand on his chest.

It seemed like hours before she spoke again. "I'm just glad you're okay, Yoshiki..." She said quietly, forcing a smile on her face. She tried to fight back the tears, but to no avail. She hugged Yoshiki, her entire body touching his. She could barely control herself. She stuffed her face onto his chest, mufflinf her cries.

He stroked her hair, staring up at the ceiling. Unsure of what to do. She had her arms wrapped around him, pulling her closer to him than she aleady was. She couldn't think,  
the perfect moment had been shattered in her face, and she didn't know what to do with herself.

She had no clue of what she could say, how she could react to the knowledge that Kishinuma... HER Kishinuma... Tried to end his own life, as if they hadn't experienced enough trauma.

She sniffled. "I... Shouldn't have freaked out on you... I'm... I'm sorry..." She choked out, quietly.

"It's okay, Ayumi." He sighed to himself, staring up at the ceiling. Her breathing was shaky, but she had managed to calm herself mostly. "But... Why?" She asked her eyes blood shot.

"I... I... Can we not talk about this... Now...?" He asked, not wishing to go over it once again. He turned the wound away from her, so she couldnt see it.

"I... Guess... But you're GOING to tell me sooner or later... I... Still can't believe you... You..." She started tearing up once again. She still couldn't put what he had done to words without feeling a terrible sense of dread. Kishinuma held her, gulping as he regreted doing what he had done two nights before.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Nolan creaked the farm house door open. He planned to do a quick run through of the house, then the farm, then he would head to Yoshiki's. It wouldn't take him that long, and it would only take about... an hour to get there, he wouldn't be that late, and if they were serious about telling him the truth, they would still be there.

Light poured in through the front windows, and the newly opened door, piercing and killing off the darkness. He peered through the door seeing nothing of note. A couch sat on far side, on the right. It was incredibly dusty, and looked as if no one had touched it for years. Though, he guessed that the same could be said for the rest of the building.

As he stepped, the entire building echoed and creaked. the dusty, old wooden floorboards cracking under his weight as he stepped through the house. With every breath he took in, he breathed stale air that had been sitting still for years. He stepped towards a dusty table in the corner. He looked at a picture that was sat on it. Equally dusty.

There was so much dust on the picture. So much that he couldn't see it. He wiped the dust off of the picture, revealing it to be a picture of Sachiko's grandparents, and her. She looked so happy...

He felt a presence, a cold feeling directly behind him and to the right. He didn't turn around, smarter than to do that. He stood up straight, looking into a small mirror that was positioned in front of him, on the wall above the table.

A twisted, un-humanly face, on a old woman's body stood behind him, twitching, shaking uncontrollably in an inhumane way. He stared. This was no spirit, but a demon. This was the first demon he had met face to face.

He stared, counting the seconds that had passed. A stinging feeling of pain, and despair ringing in his head. The face became more and more disfigured, The empty holes where the eyes used to be started to leak a thick yellow puss, followed by blood trails slowly pouring down her face, dripping onto the floor.

He couldn't just sit there, he recognized the spirit as Sachiko's grandmother, she had been waiting in there for tens of years, she certainly had the time to sit there and wait for him to turn around. He didn't have the time though, he needed to continue.

Not that he wanted to continue anymore. He needed to get the fuck out of there, RIGHT now. He needed to leave the house, the curse was worse than he could have imagined.  
He turned around, unsure of what to expect, he was unsure of what could happen. Worst case scenario, he dies. Horribly. But he couldn't just sit there and stare until his knees gave out, and he died of stavation.

He turned, but closed his eyes tight, not sure of what could happen. Truth be told, he was afraid beyond belief, but he'd never show it.

Nothing...

Nothing happened. He was unsure whether or not the demon was still there, but... He had to check. He waved a hand out in front of him.

Nothing...

There was nothing in front of him, so... It was safe... Right?

He opened his eyes.

Not Nothing.

He only caught a glimpse of the demon, it's face now empty, void of any expression, insects of every kind pooling up in the eye sockets and mouth. He was forced back at an immense speed hitting the wall and shattering the mirror. He looked back up, but saw nothing, his vision was blurry, and fuzzy. He had broken the table when he fell after being thrown against the wall, shattering the glass and frame of the picture.

He suddenly felt a yank on his arm so powerful it pulled him into the air, flying to the other side of the room, as if he had been thrown. "F-" Was all he managed to get out before hitting the floor and rolling.

Nothing felt broken... Yet. He got up immediately, not turning to see the demon, but instead running straight for the door, he was going home, he was going home NOW. He was hit on the back with an immense force, sending him through the door, breaking the hinges. The door flew off and he fell down the steps.

Okay, okay, something is DEFINATELY broken now. He held his shoulder, struggling to get up. His shoulder was not okay, not by a long shot. He needed help, like... Soon.  
He turned his head, looking back up at the house, he saw the twisted, twitching figure immerge from the darkness of the home, obviously focused on hurting the boy.

"Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitsh-" He cut off, as he tried to run, his shoulder felt like it was on fire. Something grabbed his leg, cutting him off. He fell to the ground, the soft sensation of grass suddenly tingling his face. He looked up, the sun beating down on him. Whatever was holding onto his leg tightened it's grip, and suddenly started pulling him towards the barn. He gripped onto large clumps of grass, one in each hand.

As he felt the creature pull harder, he could feel and hear the grass ripping. It tore the last piece, causing him to be suddenly dragged across the ground at speeds he couldn't imagine. He was forcibly picked up onto his feet right outside the barn, the creature suddenly putting his entire body into a vice like grip. The barn door slowly opened, and Nolan was greeted by the screams of the damned.

Was... He going to die here?

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Yoshiki stared at Ayumi, only seconds ago had she been nuzzling him on the chest, tearing up. Then she had gone suddenly void of any emotion, staring blankly into space. "Hey... Um... Ayumi?" He asked, he had seen this before, she had done it a few times in Heavenly Host. Usually when she was getting possessed... Or having a vision...

"No!" She suddenly let out. "Yoshiki! We have to go! Now!"

**Okay, okay, shit's happening as you can tell. People have been saying that I've been putting to much Nolan in the chapters, well I guess after this ordeal with the barn, I'll just put him in the background for a while. **


	14. Too Much

Yoshiki followed Ayumi as she sprinted out of his apartment, locking the door on the way out. It wasn't hard to keep up, the girl wasn't very athletic.

"Ayumi, what is it?!" He asked loudly as the two exited the apartment block.

"We need to get to the outskirts of the city..." Shinozaki mumbled, frantically, looking around for anything that could get them to Nolan faster. If they didn't do anything... He could die...

She didn't want to lose anyone else. She knew that if she let Nolan die, Suzumoto would never forgive her, even in the afterlife.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Nolan was whipped at an immense speed into the barn, tumbling and rolling onto his back. He closed his eyes tight, not wanting to see what could be around him. All was still,  
and silent for a moment.

Drip, drop, drip.

He heard the constant dripping of a thick fluid, he didn't want to look, but knew that if he didn't, all that was left to do was sit there and wait to die. He opened his eyes. The room was filled with bodies, crispy, burnt, mutilated, hacked to pieces, anything that you could think of... The smell hit his nose. It smelt like a butcher shop... Except... He knew... That it wasn't just pigs, and cows.

Drip, drop, drip.

He coughed, a bit of blood coming out and dripping onto his hand. Not... Not good. He looked back up at the door, light pouring in from outside, shining off the dozens of corpses. This... This wasn't real... If there... Were really this many dead people here... Someone would have already called the police.

He felt a pound on his chest, as if something had just stomped on him with immense force. He was so sure of the fact that he was going to die... He coughed up a bit more blood as soon as he felt the impact on his chest

Cracked ribs hurt like a motherfucker. He rolled onto his side.

Tears coming down his tear duct. No... No he couldn't die like this! He had not gone through everything he had gone through in his life, just for him to be snuffed in some fucking barn in the middle of nowhere. He had to live. For him. For Mayu. F-... For... Seiko...

He looked up weakly, feeling drained of all of his power. He didn't seem to be bleeding, but his shoulder was broken, and at least one rib was at least cracked. He looked around the room, seeing more dead bodies.

Sachiko...

Sachiko stood in the center, drenched in blood. She held a pair of scissors.

This... She... What...?

He wasn't seeing something that was happening right now, he knew that... He was seeing echoes from the past. This is something that happened before she dead, he was just seeing the memories of someone else. That was good... Kinda... The demon was still an active threat, but at least he didn't have to deal with a crazy little girl with scissors. Why was she here, anyways? He was seeing echoes from the past. So what he was seeing was from when Sachiko was still alive. Or at least had a body.

Why her? So Sachiko... The victim of a brutal murder... Is, herself, a killer?

Pain in his body was unbearable, and was made even worse when he tried to move. He pushed himself up using his arm that wasn't attached to a broken shoulder. He struggled to limp towards the entrance, his heart pounding in his head, he felt as though his head could split.

He landed weirdly on his leg, his entire body aching. His left leg hurt like a bitch, so when he stepped on it, he stumbled, landing up against the wall.

He looked around once again.

No bodies.

Looks like the echoes from the past were done presenting themselves to him... Why show him that Sachiko killed people in the barn, if the demon was just going to kill him anyways?  
He moved himself, shuffling along while leaning against the cracked, rotten wooden boards that made up the barn. The paint that used to cover it completely chipped off and spotted in places as he moved.

The door started closing again, shutting off the outside from the only light in the barn came from the door, so as it slowly drifted close, the barn got darker. He struggled to make it to the door, being only a few feet away now. the gap in the two doors was about a foot as they slowly slid towards eachother. Nolan threw himself foward, landing a few feet outside of the barn.

He... He made it out...

He clutched the grass, he... He could have died... He sniffled, the situation being too much for a 14 year old boy, mature or not. He blinked away the oncoming tears, struggling to stand back up onto his feet. He stood up, staring at the blue sky, the sun slowly going towards the ground. It should have been about 5:00 by now.

He heard a small shriek, turning around out of shock, he expected to see another demon, which, had that been the case, he'd be fucked.

Nothing.

No, I mean, literally nothing.

Behind him... There WAS no barn... There was no farmhouse... Nothing but a field sat behind him. He gulped, knowing that there was no way out of this, he had to get home,  
and make up some lie about why his shoulder was broken, and his ribs were probably cracked.

Yoshiki's was not an option anymore, but... They would probably understand... He looked back at the dirt road that led towards the road. It would be a long, and painful walk... But it was do-able. He struggled, forcing himself forward, limping.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**Ten Minutes Later**

Ayumi and Yoshiki ran. "What do you mean?" He asked, slightly mad that Ayumi had made him come this far out of the town, and still hasn't said a thing about why. They were nearing the edge of the town, and were starting to see farm houses in the distance.

"It's... It's somewhere around here!" She shouted frantically, sprinting, gasping for air. Her legs hurt because of all the running, but she couldn't stop now. She wasn't sure whether her vision of Nolan getting attacked had been from the future, or happened as she got the vision, but it'd only been 15 minutes since she had the vision, and since they had took off for the country side, so... It was possible that he was still okay.

Yoshiki ran behind her, looking at the distant farm houses. "What's somewhere around here?" He asked, still mad that she refused to tell him what they were running to.

Ayumi stopped, seeing a dirt road... She remembered this small path. In her vision... Nolan had gone down it towards a field that had a farmhouse, and barn. She looked at the field... Nothing... It was empty, but she could still feel the spiritual presence of the curse.

She looked around... No Nolan... Was he... Gone...? Something dropped in her stomach, she stood there, looking at the field... Was she too late? Her knees gave out, she felt like crying. She wasn't having a very good day, first she finds out the love of her life tried to kill himself, second, the brother of a girl who's death was on her hands was missing, assumed to be dead.

"JESUS. FUCKING. CHRIST." She heard a familiar voice say rather loudly, shooting hope back into her brain.


	15. Discovery

Nolan struggled towards the road, feeling a searing pain in his shoulder, and his chest hurt. He assessed how badly he was hurt. His shoulder was at least cracked, and his ribs didn't feel that great. One was probably cracked. Hopefully when he got home, he'd be able to get to a hospital. He'd have to make up a fake story about how he hurt himself.  
He could just say that he blacked out, and when he woke up, he was already like this.

Yeah, that'd work.

Hopefully.

He made his way across the field, nearing towards the dirt path that went through the forest, towards the road. He felt the crunch under his shoes as he stepped on the old dirt path. He left the field, suddenly surrounded by trees as he pushed for the road.

He wasn't far from the city. Thirty minute walk and he'd be back at his house. It sure would be faster if he ran, but running wasn't something he thought he could physically do at the moment. His entire body was sore, but the pain focused on his shoulder. He held it with his other arm as he made his way through the woods. The sounds of the wildlife filled his ears.

He suddenly felt a force on his back, as if something had just punched him. He fell over and landed onto his wounded shoulder, he looked up in a panic, seeing the demon once again. It's twisted, unnatural features weren't something that the human race was meant to see. Something that could break a weak mind with just one glance. He stared at it as his vision went blurry. Tears? He was crying?

He was suddenly dragged down the road at an unbearable speed, suddenly stopping after a brief moment of pain. His heavy breathing was the only thing he could hear now, along with his own heartbeat. He was face down in dirt. He used his good arm to push himself up, suddenly realizing he was lying at the feet of... Someone, or something. He looked up, afraid of who it might be.

Mayu? The ghostly figure in front of him smiled. "M...Mayu?" He struggled out, his voice shaky. Another pair of legs joined her, a slightly taller figure smiled down at him. Oh god, Shinohara... He stared at the two for a moment. Both of the spirits stood there, Mayu took her hand, placing it down on his shoulder, he felt a chill colder than ice.

Numbness. He still couldn't believe his eyes, let alone the fact that Mayu, his forgotten, and dead sister, either had just healed him, or numbed the pain of his shoulder.

The rest of his body still ached, of course, but it felt wonderful not having a constant burn on his body. The pulsing, burning pain that had been increasing with each heartbeat.  
He opened his mouth, prepared to give a thank you, but couldn't talk. He found no words able to express how he felt. He closed his mouth, embarrassed, he was still crying.  
He could feel it. But he didn't care. He felt a hand on his cheek, he opened his eyes once more, seeing Shinohara's face. She smiled weakly.

They both knew that Nolan was in great danger, but they both looked so proud. So happy that Nolan was devoting so much time to their disappearances.

Mayu's spirit was crying, he could see it on her face. Ghostly tears running down her cheeks. She was sad that her brother was being put through this, but was happy that she could relieve some of the pain.

Seiko removed her hand from Nolan's cheek, standing back up, comforting Mayu. Shinohara spoke to her, but Nolan was unable to hear them converse. After a short amount of talking between Seiko and the shorter girl, Mayu seemed to cheer up, wiping the last tears off of her face. They turned to the younger boy.

They looked like they were about to say something to him, to give him something, or do something to him.

I say ABOUT, because at that moment, he was dragged away from them at an immense speed. He was taken off of the path, suddenly being dragged through leaves, and grass.  
Between trees. He managed to clutch onto a tree he was passing, he felt the bark rip after a few short moments of pulling, and the dragging continued. He was thankful his shoulder was either fixed, or numbed, as he was being dragged along ON that shoulder.

He was suddenly forced upright, onto his feet.

He was standing in front of a small, mossy cabin. No trails led to, or from this place. It was completely disconnected from the rest of the area. Just sitting there in the middle of the woods.

Nothing. He expected to be forced through the door, or to be met with a monster, or demon of some sort.

But nothing was gripping him anymore, nothing was dragging him. He could move again.

The demon that had been attacking him didn't want to kill him. That much was clear. If it wanted him dead, he'd already be dead.

No. It wanted to SHOW him something.

He gulped, looking at the small, one room cabin. No windows, nothing. Just one, closed, rotted door. There was nothing he could do to see what was in there BEFORE going in. The air was wet, and heavy. The area around him was no longer a forest, but a swamp. The constant buzzing of swampland animals, and insects made Nolan nervous.

He pushed the door open slowly, and was met by stale air. A stench that hasn't been let out for years. He coughed loudly.

"JESUS. FUCKING. CHRIST." He exclaimed to himself.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Ayumi and Yoshiki headed towards where they had heard his voice, frantically searching. "You heard that too, right?" Ayumi asked Yoshiki, after seeing that Nolan was nowhere on the path.

"Yeah, check the woods!" Yoshiki said back. Looking into the forest, he stepped off of the path, peering into the trees. The smaller girl followed him, worried about the younger boy's safety.

"I don't see him, Yoshiki! Suzumoto-kun!" She shouted for the boy.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Nolan could hear voices in the distance, but he paid no attention. He was frightened for his life. The demon had taken him there for a reason, and if he left to see who was calling for him, it might not like that. He peered in, light now entering the building for the first time in what seemed like years. He peered in, ignoring the calls for him by the two people in the distance.

His eyes rested on a faint glow from the darkness.

Her.

Sachiko's grandmother. Though this time, she wasn't a demon, but a spirit. A ghost. Her sympathetic, sorry eyes rested on the boy. She lifted a bony arm, her hand pointed further into the darkness. He breathed a large breath of fresh air before stepping into the stale, still air of the shack. He looked at where she was pointing, cautious of the spirit, knowing what she had the potential to become. A demon. Careful to not get too close to her.

His vision finally adjusted to the darkness, and his eyes finally rested upon a skeletal body, slumped up against the wall.

It's clothes had all but rotted away, but from the scraps that still lay on the floor. It... It...

It was the same dress that Sachiko's grandmother was wearing.

She died here...

This was her...

He looked up to the skull of the body...

Oh fuck...

A pair of scissors had been forced into the skull. There were multiple stab wounds on the skull, and the scissors were still stuck in one of them. Blood dried onto the weapon. Dried blood all over the floor. Jesus... Did... Did Sachiko KILL her grandmother?

"Suzumo-" He heard a voice pierce the stillness.

"FUCK." He let out, jumping at the sudden voice directly behind him. He turned around, jumping back further into the shack. He looked at the doorway... Stood there was Shinozaki.

She wore a orange sweatshirt, and a long black skirt. She wore an extremely relieved expression. Her blue tinted hair tied into two pony tails, like she always had it.

Behind her stood Kishinuma, he wore a black hoodie, unzipped to show his red T-shirt underneath, and blue-jeans. Nolan still had his Kisiragi uniform on, the buttons up and everything.

Her relieved expression changed to one of worry when she saw Nolan's face. Fear. That was what she saw on his face. That, and sorrow. There was blood on his Kisiragi uniform.  
Not a lot, but a few drops, enough to be noticeable from a few feet away.

"Are you okay?" She asked, taking a step forward. Nolan, out of instinct, took a step back, not trusting his eyes. Was he finally safe? Or was a ghost playing tricks on his eyes.

"I... I..." He felt himself tearing up again, but that wasn't what he felt the most. He felt sick. Suddenly ill. He felt something force it's way up his throat. He turned away from the two, with a sudden jerk. Throwing up into the corner. He coughed violently, tasting the sourness of vomit, and the saltiness of blood. He felt tears running down his face.

Nolan looked down, seeing the vomit on the floor. Mixed with blood. Was he internally bleeding? If so, he needed to get to a hospital immediately.

"Suzumoto?" Ayumi asked, staring at the boy. "We... We should get you to a hospital... Why are you here?" He ignored her questions, feeling lightheaded.

"I... I thought... I was going to die..." He choked out, feeling a tear rolling down his face. He felt lightheaded, his vision was fuzzy, and he finally felt his mind giving up.

His vision suddenly going black as he fell onto the floor, loosing all forms of consciousness.


	16. Awoken

**Terribly sorry for the lazy updates, I've been worked on both school, and trying to have a social life for once. I'm going to start getting back in the groove of things soon. ~ JN.**

Nolan felt himself come online. His last memories being ones of horror, he immediately sprung up. Completely skipping the 'groggy and slow' part of waking up. He looked around, not knowing exactly where he was. No, no, no! Where was he? He tried moving but attempting to move too rapidly resulting in pain aching throughout his body.

Not pain of broken bones, not pain of torn muscles. But aching pain, the type of hurt you get after working out, or running a lot. He was beyond sore. He remembered Mayu. His sister, touching the wound. Taking the pain away. He felt his shoulder nervously. The quietness in the pitch black room was extrememly frightening. He still had yet to realize where he was.

He touched where the broken bone would have been. Fortunately, Mayu's ghoustly touch seemed to have mended the wound. Although was extremely sore from being tossed around, he smiled faintly for the first time in what seemed like weeks. He was alive, and Seiko Shinohara, and Mayu Suzumoto were to be thanked for it. Without their healing of his wound, the sheer pain may have made it much tougher to avoid the demon.

The demon... The ghost, Sachiko's own grandmother, murdered at the hands of the little girl. Her bones hidden away in a cabin far in the woods, never to be found by anyone. Until that moment. Until that very second where Nolan stumbled in, scared for his life, and his eyes met the skeleton on the ground. The blood crusted scissors still forced through the skull.

He had regrouped his thoughts, his senses. Despite it hurting to move, he forced himself off of the thing he was laying on. Most likely a bed, or a couch. His feet hit the floor, and he felt the hard floor. His shoes making small clunks as he slid off of the bed. It was still pitch black, the only thing he could hear was a mix of his heartbeat and his small panicked breaths.

He gulped, taking a step forward.

His foot hit something immediately as he went for the step, causing him to trip. "Oh shi-" He said, knowing full well how much this was about to hurt. He held his hands out in front of him, sheilding his face from the fall, his side hit the floor, causing an aching pain to suddenly shoot through all of his nerves. "Ough...Fuck..." He said quietly to himself.

The loud thud of his body hitting the floor echoed throughout whatever room he was in. He sad there, basking in pain.

He heard several panicked shouts from another room, then footsteps coming towards him, muffled by a wall.

A door suddenly swung open, light coming in. Revealing the room to be... His? He pushed himself up, looking at the doorway. The sudden bright light hitting him was both relieving,  
and slightly annoying to his eyes. He looked at the person who had opened the door.

"Kishinuma?" He let out, both relieved, and confused. "What happened... After I passed out?" Kishinuma walked over, a concerned look on his face. He helped Nolan up, leading him towards the door.

"We helped you here, took a long ass time, and we got a few stares, carrying someone through the market, like we did." He chuckled slightly. Nolan stood in the living room area of his house. He looked over, seeing Ayumi sitting on the couch. Her face. She looked pale... She was scared to death over... Something? Was she scared about Nolan's well being? Nah, that couldn't be it... Could it? He pondered to himself, as he struggled to stand up on his own.

"What time is it?" He asked Yoshiki.

"It's about 7:30." Yoshiki said simply. "We were about to leave, but we heard you flopping around in there." He laughed almost silently over his own statement. Nolan peaked once more at Ayumi. There were tears running down her face... She sniffled, standing up, and walking towards the other two. She looked as if she REALLY wanted to say something,  
but was scared to say it.

She suddenly lunged forward, pulling Nolan into a hug. Sobbing once. "I-I-I... I thought I was going to lose another!" She let out, whimpering, barely able to speak. "I was so scared!" Nolan, awkwardly sat there, unsure of what to do with his arms. If she had hugged a bit tighter, it probably would have hurt him a lot, cause of the soreness.

He just looked over Ayumi (Which was pretty easy, he was a solid half foot taller than her.) at Yoshiki. Awkwardly. He grinned, almost jealous, but he knew that Ayumi meant nothing romantic with the hug, as she had, only just a few hours earlier, nearly made out with him. Nolan finally felt her grip weaken, he stepped back, giving her some space to breath. She was not in a good state.

"Well... My parents get home in about 20 minutes, so you guys should probably go... But... Stay safe... And try to explain to me what the fuck happened on that farm when you have the chance... I still have a few questions about it, ok?"

"Yeah... Yeah, will do." Yoshiki spoke for Ayumi, who sobbed and whimpered while she held her head in her hands. It was a tough sight to see, a poor, good willed gal like Ayumi reduced to tears. Nolan watched them head for the door, Yoshiki constantly trying to get Ayumi to calm down, but she was still so shocked.

When she had saw Nolan fall onto the floor, she thought she had killed another. He actions causing yet another to die.

She had caused his sister's death.

She was NOT allowing her actions to so much as HARM him. That was a promise she made herself keep. If one more dies cause of her stupid decision to do a charm... Then...  
Then she wouldn't be able to live with herself.

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**30 Minutes Later**

Ayumi finally calmed down, finally able to talk without studdering. Even though her breathing was shaking still. Yoshiki knelt down, they were standing in his apartment, having just arrived.

"Shinoz- Ayumi..." He corrected himself, as they were now apparently on the first name basis. "It's okay, HE'S okay. You can calm down now... It wasn't your fault anywa-" She kissed him suddenly. Their faces connecting. After a good 4 seconds, she pulled away. "Er... Wow..." He said quietly.

"Don't think I've forgotten about what you did to yourself..." She trembled. He was unsure of why she had just kissed him if she was only going to bring up his suicide attempt once again, but he got a kiss, so he was fine with it. He looked down to his wrist, looking back up to Ayumi's face. She looked sad, but... Relieved to have not caused another death.

She placed a hand on his chest, sniffling. "I still can't believe you..." She felt herself tear up again.

"Yeah..." Yoshiki just got out, he hated thinking about it. It was one point in time, where he had lost all hope for the future, and he made a bad decision. He simply wanted to forget it.

She sniffled one more time, before pressing herself up against him, her arms wrapping around the taller boy. She placed her head on his shoulder. Letting out the last of her sobs. She gulped, looking up. She wished to say so much to the boy, she regreted everything she had said while in Heavenly Host. She was always so mean to him, even going as far as to say she hated him when he had warned her about a ghost behind her. She didn't believe him at the time, she thought he was just being a dick.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, trying hard to swallow her pride.

"Excuse me?" Yoshiki asked, he had barely heard what she had said.

"I'm... I'm sorry." She said, louder this time. Yoshiki's mind registered what she had just said.

"For what?" He asked. A concerned look on his face.

"For... For how I acted like while we were in that... That school..." She choked out. Yoshiki grinned, he was happy to finally hear it. His apartment was silent for a moment as Yoshiki decided what to say.

"It's okay Ayumi." He finally said. "You were just scared an-"

"But you looked after me, and made sure I didn't get hurt, even though you weren't getting any recognition for it, and all I cared about was Mochida!" Ayumi let out, quickly, her guilt building up as she realized how much of a bitch she had been to Yoshiki.

"But I have your attention right now, don't I? That makes it all worth it..." Kishinuma knelt down to her level, meeting her eyes, her mind went blank as his gaze met hers.

"That's the nicest thing... Anyone's ever said to me..." She started tearing up out of pure joy, and maybe a bit of guilt.

"Well, it's true..." Kishinuma laughed awkwardly. He smiled at her, her bright eyes twinkling in the orange dusk sunlight shining through the window. He leaned forward slightly, their faces connecting one again. Both of the teens have their eyes shut tightly. Enjoying their time together.

Ayumi pulled away, her smile wobbling into a frown once again. "I'm... I'm so sorry." She said, feeling guilty over everything once again, she couldn't express her guilt using words. It was THAT immense. It was the emotional equivalent of a fucking nuke going off inside of her head.

"Ayumi... You REALLY need to stop apologizing."

**I realize this is pretty short, for how long I've taken a break of writing the past few weeks. I'll start writing a chapter for one of my stories once every like 2 days SOON. And they'll be much longer, I just wanted to sit down and write this quick chapter to make sure no one mistakes this story as dead. More chapters coming soon. ~ JN **


	17. Worry

After the two had left, Nolan stumbled back into his dark room, flipping on the light switch. He coughed dryly as he sat down at his desk, his PC sitting there. He clicked in on, revealing the page he had last been on. The Shinozaki farm. He stared for a moment, almost wanting to throw up just at the sight of it. He gulped, looking over his shoulders,  
paranoid. Unbelievably paranoid. Nervous beyond belief.

He was always a worrier, but now he had REASON to worry. Reason to be paranoid. Reason to be afraid. He looked over his shoulders, catching a glimpse of a shadow that disappeared as soon as he looked at it.

Was it one of them? Seiko, Mayu, or one of the others? Maybe it was even that Urabe EMi girl... He remembered the dance. The girl awkwardly coming up to him, almost forcing him onto his feet. He felt for each and every one of them, but specifically for Mayu. His beloved sister. He missed her so.

He was used to the shadows following him at this point, it didn't bother him.

He had always been told, it's not the invisible ones you should be scared of.

As when you can see them, that means their presence is strong enough to make them able to touch, and possibly harm you.

Like her, like that demon. He still couldn't get the picture of that twisted, disfigured face out of his mind.

He moved the clicker to the top of the screen, clicked on the options button, and book marked the page, maybe he'd have a use for it later. He clicked out of it, then saw his other tab: A google search for the name Emi Urabe.

He remembered doing this, right before he left for the farm. He remembered the girl's name from the dream he had had, and then looked her up to see if she was also a victim of whatever happened.

Ah yes, 'whatever happened'. He now had a vague idea of what had happened. Some sort of charm was activated by Shinozaki, having to do with Sachiko, and it made all these people get erased from history. That's all he knew, or at least, that's all he could think of.

He opened up a note book tab, and quickly typed in several names.

_Shinohara Seiko_

_Suzumoto Mayu_

_Morishige Sakutaro_

_Shishido Yui_

_Urabe Emi_

Those were all of the victim's he knew of as of now, he knew there had to be more, but he'd have to find that out later. He saved the note, and closed it. Hopefully he'd find out more of the victim's names eventually. It was the least he could do. He had to help these poor souls.

He shut the computer down, spinning the chair around and standing up, grunting as he did so. He struggled to get to his bed, hopefully he wasn't this sore in the morning.

His parents would be getting home soon, as both of them work pretty much all day, he was alone about 80% of the time. He flopped onto the bed. He felt the need to cry, but he couldn't. He knew that somewhere, he was being watched. Watched by who? He was unsure.

It could be Mayu, Seiko, or any of the other spirits. But he knew that at least of of them were stalking him. Not in a scary way, of course. It was their way of saying 'Hey wanna play?'  
And yes, yes he did want to play. He'd go along with it.

Anyways, he WAS being stalked by a good spirit, maybe several, and THAT'S why he couldn't cry. Because he couldn't let them see. He couldn't let them know. He had to stay strong. For him, and for them. To give them hope that someday he would manage to free them.

He felt a chill as he was about to go to sleep, and jolt on his back. It felt like pure energy, not electricity, but... Energy. It was hard to explain. He moved a bit, and turned around.  
Wanting to know what it was.

In the dark, he could faintly see a glowing form standing on the side of the bed. It was difficult to tell who it was... But it almost looked like... Seiko...?

That was the last thing he remembered before he woke up in the morning, drenched in cold sweat.

There was only one thing he noticed... He didn't feel the pain anymore... No soreness, nothing. Simple as that.

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Satoshi walked into the school slowly, he wished simply for just one more regular day, without ghosts, or spirits, or curses. He gulped thinking about it. The experience had made him much stronger of will, and mind. He looked down the hallway, seeing groups of students talking and laughing, he walked around them, sighing as he heard the other students having fun, something he now struggled to comprehend having.

He found the hallway with his class's lockers, seeing Naomi and Ayumi talking. Ayumi looked as if she was telling a story, but was uncomfortable telling it, almost frightened.  
Naomi looked shocked, and slightly worried. Satoshi made a B-line straight for it, scared of what might have happened since he had last talked to the rest of the group. He gulped, walking into the conversation.

"-And I don't think he showed up today, he might just be tired, or... Or... In shock from what happened on the farm... But... I can't help but worry..." Ayumi finished up. Naomi had a worried tint to her face, but as she looked at Satoshi, she was instantly reassured.

"Hey Satoshi." She said, trying to remove her worry from her tone. She had no reason to get Satoshi worried about their younger friend's well being.

"Hey Naomi... Shinozaki... What was that about a farm?" Satoshi turned to the shorter girl.

"We'll be able to discuss it at lunch, we don't have a lot of time left before first hour." Ayumi said.

"Hey guys." A voice came from behind them. The three turned around to see Yoshiki standing, a small grin on his face as his eyes laid upon Shinozaki. He hadn't seen her since the night before...

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_Shinozaki kissed Yoshiki hard enough to nearly take his breath away. He sat down on the edge of his bed, and she nearly jumped on top of him, knocking him backwards. She was now laying on top of him, her warm breath hitting him in the face. It didn't seem appropriate to be doing this now, but... She... She owed it to him... She felt as though she had a debt to him..._

_Yeah, yeah, that's what she kept telling herself 'I'm only doing this because I owe him my life' she'd tell herself as she imagined a sexual scenario between her and Yoshiki, but the truth... The truth was that she wanted him. Ever since he proved that he wasn't just a delinquent during the Heavenly Host accident, all she could think about was him. His bravery._

_Oh man, how much she hated the fact that she now was in love with this boy that she found to be the polar opposite of her. She placed both her hands on his chest, her skirt and panties barely offering any protection from the cold brisk air in his apartment. She thought about this all the time... She was waiting for this..._

_She gulped, just about to break the question. 'Are we really about to do this?' She hoped she could muster up the courage to ask, and dear god, she hoped that he'd say 'yes'._

_A text tone from Ayumi's phone. It pierced the air, and shattered the moment. Yoshiki, who was rather enjoying himself, was disappointed. Ayumi, who was DEFINITELY enjoying herself, looked even more disappointed, she immediately pulled the phone out of her shirt pocket, and clicked it on._

_"It's... It's my mother... I gotta go..." She said glumly. Extremely sad that her mother kinda just ruined her moment. She climbed off of him, sniffling once. She felt as if she was a child, and an old dude just stole her candy. She put the phone back in her pocket, sliding herself off of the bed, she turned to leave, but not before looking back at Yoshiki once more. Their eyes met, and she immediately turned back around, too embarrassed to look him in the eyes._

_She gulped, leaving the apartment, shutting the door silently behind her._

_She sighed... So close..._

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Yoshiki grinned at her, knowing full well she remembered their close encounter too. She blushed and looked away from him. A huge red tint to her face. Naomi and Satoshi noticed this immediately, they knew something had happened between the two, but by the looks of Ayumi's face, it should probably just stay between them.

But on that subject, it made both Satoshi and Naomi wonder about THEIR relationship, well... Actually the lack of a relationship...

It made the both of them disappointed. Not in each other, but in themselves. As neither one of them has had the courage to tell the other how they feel...

But... At that very moment, both of them promised themselves that that would change very soon.


	18. Become A Ghost

**I officially declare "I hope I become a Ghost - The Deadly Syndrome" the theme song of Aftermath. Please play it while reading this chapter, I swear it will enhance your reading experience. Seriously, I did it myself, and it makes it so much better, cause I had this song in mind while writing the first half of this chapter, and I think it shows.**

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**20 Minutes Earlier**

Nolan walked out of his room, he was gonna be late for school, of course. It was already 7:30 and it would take him little over 45 minutes to get ready, and get there. He sighed.  
Something... Felt off, today. Not in a terrible sense, but different. This fact made him uneasy. He gulped, his parents already had left for their different jobs, leaving the house silent.

He stood in the bathroom mirror, his green eyes staring back at him, but... But he swore, for a tiny fraction of a second, that the face in the mirror when he had first looked, had not been him.

He... He must just be half awake. Yeah... That must be it.

He gulped, going to grab his tooth-brush, he stared in the mirror, scared to take his eyes off of it. Ever since his meet with the demon, he was scared of everything. He reached for the toothpaste, staring at the mirror, not blinking. Static. For a millisecond, he heard incredibly loud static coming from the other room. Now... Now he was sure of it. He wasn't just half awake, something was playing tricks on him. Silly ghosts, tricks are for kids. He dropped the toothbrush. The static coming from the other room was an invitation. A question. It was saying "Wanna play?" and maybe he did.

But also maybe he didn't.

He turned the corner, seeing the TV flick on and off, through a black screen, and loud static. He stared for a moment, chilled to the bone. Despite what could be assumed, he was not used to this. He turned his head slightly, seeing the remote on the couch, he took baby steps towards it, looking over to the TV. As he got closer to the object on the couch, the television seemed to turn on more furiously, and faster. The static getting louder, almost more violent.

"Help..." A voice suddenly came through the static.

Nolan stopped in his tracks, staring at the TV.

"Help... Us..."

It was not Mayu's voice, it was not Seiko's, or Yui's, or Morishige's... This was a different ghost. A different spirit.

In that second, his world view seemed to change, what was happening. His head felt light, and he stumbled backwards, hitting something incredibly cold. He flinched, the icy touch being a vast change from the warm room temperature. He stood up straight, turning around.

A group... Or a crowd of spirits... Stood in the room. He could have screamed, but his throat seemed to close as soon as he met eyes with every... EVERY single one of the victims of the accident. Said accident, he still did not know the details of, that's something he'd have to get on soon.

The crowd could have been anywhere from 50 - 100 people huddled in the living room, almost shoulder to shoulder. He gulped, stepping back. He stared at the crowd.

People... Students.

He saw so many...

Middle schoolers, a few elementary students, and a majority of high school students.

He saw a few student IDs still on the spirits that he took the time to read at a glance.

Nari Amatoya, she looked his age... Very pretty. Her short brown hair now pale-blue. Her sad, pleading eyes staring at him just like the rest.

Mitsuki Yamamoto... Looked a bit older than him, her longer than usual light hair now also blue. Her eyes, showed so much fear. Their only hopes were the only two still alive people who could see, and contact them. Nolan, and Ayumi.

Emi... Urabe? That's the one! That's the girl who Nolan had met at the school dance! He looked up at her, as his eyes met hers, he suddenly realized how much pain they had gone through, her eyes showed so much pain, so much fear. He gulped, stepping back.

He wanted out, he wanted his old life back.

He rushed out of the room, he had to get somewhere. He opened the front door, but instead of seeing the town, he saw a wall, he jumped back, surely, he wasn't going that way. He turned his head, seeing the spirits still looking at him. What did they expect him to do anyways?

He finally broke, his back pressed up against the wall. He slowly slid down on the floor, closing his eyes tightly. He let out a sniffle. He wanted his own life back, but that couldn't. Happen, not now, not ever. Things couldn't be the same ever again, could they?

A small hand on his shoulder he opened his eyes to see Mayu. A comforting sight, to say the least.

"It's gonna be all right, bro..." She said, she was struggling to keep a straight face, her voice making it clear that she too wanted to burst into tears. Either from being dead, or seeing her dearest brother in this position.

He was always a loner, Nolan was. This was the first time the spotlight was truly put on him, and it was an extremely unnatural occurence: Ghosts. They needed HIM to do something.  
Or they'd be damned to wander the Earth forever as spirits.

He let out a single shaky breath. The rest of the spirits were standing back, letting Mayu handle it. Among the crowd, he saw several faces he recognized. Morishige, Seiko, Ms. Yui... The Urabe girl...

"No, it won't." He said, a tiny tinge of bitterness in his voice. He stood up, planting a hand on the wall where there used to be a door. He pulled his arm back, thrusting it forward. Feeling the allusion break away under his force, he fell forward through the door.

He turned back, seeing Mayu gingerly walk to the door, feeling sunlight on her ghastly skin for the first time in what seemed like forever. She looked at Nolan, a sympathetic look in her eyes.

"See you later." She simply spoke. She was on the verge of tears, saying bye to her brother like this, alas, she knew that he couldn't help them as of now, and their stalking of him didn't help his progress.

She slowly closed the door, as he lie on his back, propped up on his elbows, staring up at the house. The morning sun lighting up his face. He watched the door close, shutting almost silently.

He needed to think things over.

There must be a way to bring them back. There just must...

He felt like crying, he really did, but he couldn't let them see his tears. He was one of their last hopes, you know. He had to stay strong... Or... As strong as he possibly COULD,  
given his situation. He stood up, breathing a few shaky, deep breaths.

He gulped, sitting down on the front steps, his head in his hands.

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**A Few Hours Later**

Ayumi stood in the lunch line... She sighed... Not only did Nolan not show up today, but she was so confused about her relationship with Yoshiki... I mean, was she dating him?  
Or...?

She hit herself lightly on the head, she couldn't be thinking things like that. That's just stupid. She wasn't an average idiotic teen, caring only about social status, and the like...  
But she couldn't help to shudder every time she saw Yoshiki.

She took a peek further down the line, seeing Yoshiki talking casually with some of the girls from a grade below... They looked like two punks from his old partying, delinquent days. They looked enthusiastic to talk to him, one of the two girls giving him a seductive stare.

Ayumi didn't like that situation, but fortunately, she saw Yoshiki wave the girls off, laughing. The girls looked disappointed, mad almost, as they walked off.

Shinozaki would have to speak to Yoshiki about that later, but she had other problems. She walked the line, waiting patiently for her turn to receive the daily school lunch... It was always gross, but that was the least of her problems, she could handle some nasty school lunch, after going through hell.

She peeked back at Yoshiki, who happened to look at her at the same time. They met eyes, and Ayumi looked, frozen for a moment. He flashed a grin at her, and she felt herself melt, hearing the food getting passed to her, she snapped herself out of it, grabbing the food, and walking out of the line.

Naomi and Satoshi already sat at the table, talking. They were no longer awkward around each other like they used to be. They were best friends, maybe... Maybe even closer...

"You think we'll ever get things to the way they used to be?" Satoshi asked. A sad look on his face.

"I don't know... Shinozaki's the spiritual one... If anyone's going to be able to fix things, it'll be her." Naomi replied, looking down at the ground, she only wanted her friends back.  
She wanted her way of life back. She missed them.

She missed Seiko.

**Be sure to add in the reviews (if you actually listened to the song while reading) how well you think it improved the first part of this chapter, please. It will help me to realize whether or not I should do more things like it down the road.**


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